Your Computer (Australian) 1985 October

ae

eel leo Austral

sect deuiecen ; myth

jus yed the myti

that all floppy discs are
created equal.

They seem equal. Until you look at floppy stiffer. Stronger. And your data safer.
the seams. To resist bulging, warping, puckering,
That’s where equality ends. or opening up.
Most companies seal their discs with a ;
spot here, a spot there. Leaving most of MEMOREX SOLID-SEAM BONDING:
each seam not sealed at all. Every inch of every seam ) .

, . 1s sealed shut. Tight
Sooner or later, the seams might do what | asadmm

comes naturally: they bulge. Warp. Pucker.
Open up.
Pens, pencils, fingernails—even a four-
ear-old’s, like Herbie—can catch and snag
in those wide open spaces.

That’s sloppy. And dangerous. Because
if you put a sloppy floppy into your disc
drive, it can jam your drive. Ruin your drive
head. Lose your data.

So much for their seams. Ours are
different.

a ; To resist all the things that can jam
THE SLOPPY FLOPPY: | your drive, ruin your drive head, or lose
Sealed with a spot here, —_ your data.
pe oan a ‘. Which proves that a Memorex floppy
unsealed seams a an. 3
everywhere. 7 disc isn’t equal to all the others. It’s better.
, Solid-Seam Bonding is just one example

of the extra care that goes into every
Memorex floppy disc. Be it 87’ 544” or the
new 34” Extra care that lets us guarantee
every Memorex disc to be 100% error-free.

The next time youre buying a floppy
disc—or a few hundred of them—just
remember this:

It’s always better to be safe than sloppy.

For more information on the full line

- ~~ of Memorex quality computer media
Memorex uses a process we developed, products, including computer [Jzayerer
called Solid-Seam Bonding. tape,call Sydney

Solid-Seam Bonding seals shut every inch (02)908 2211 or
of every seam of every Memorex*floppy disc. | Melbourne
Tight as a drum. That makes the Memorex (03) 267 2955

Your Data. When it matters, make it Memorex”

Memorex is a registered trademark Mi EMOREX
of Memorex Corporation. : ' :

“1984 Memorex Corporation
A Burroughs Company

CONTENTS

NEWS 8

FEATURES 19
Communications — A Baudy Tale 19
Bulletin Board Backchat 28

GosWie 8D
The Enigmatic Tulpi Modem 44
What's in the Packet? 51
— a ee ae ee ney
REVIEWS 57
The Great Database 58 Enable — Part 2 83
Search: R:Base 4000 ee ear 86
The Omni Reader___————s«d}63.-—s«sN'Surance Agents
Microsoft BASIC vs__—————s«d}™8~—C Bit. Bucket 92
MacPascal Oh Brother — 94

Son of Zardax__——éCS722”~<Cs Thee: WP

Toshiba‘s 1500... ——————~CSS'
eae ee eee ee eee
BUSINESS 97

If the Chemistry is Right .. = 98

Viatel Grapevine sd
See a eae

POCKET PROGRAMS 105
SSS SS ee ee eee
INSTRUCTION SET 111

PCs in Marketing, Part 3 112
Structured Programming, Part 7 118
SSS ee eee eee
PUBLIC DOMAIN 12]

Lotus Hotline 123 Your Bee 142
New Products_._—Cid' 26s: Yur C4 144

Your Bondwell [33 Books in Brief___. 145
IBM. Underground 134 ‘Bit by Bit’ 146
Your Appletosh 136 Clubfile 149
Your IBM__ es —C«~' 398s GS Sn. 156

Readers’ Classifieds 140 Ad Index and Services 160
Your BBC__— —“—~ws™S™C—:—:C«*d' YL NNW Mth = ee —C—C—CSCd

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2 Computer

EDITORIAL

he frenetic activity surrounding pub-

lishers of computer magazines these

days has prompted me to offer a few

thoughts on what's been happening.
Before commenting, however, | ought to point
out | don’t actually work at Your Computer; |
consult to the publishers and haven't even seen
the office for six months or more

The more time | spend on the consulting side
of my business the happier | am. Frankly, | don’t
really like to be associated with the low profes-
sional and ethical standards becoming evident
in computer magazine publishing.

It's interesting how many magazines promote
and publicise the latest products and the
newest technology, while at YC we seem to have
become increasingly sceptical. This is because
those magazines, particularly their staffs, have
no investment in the technology and nothing to
lose. Their advice costs them nothing, and if the
readers buy their recommendations then dis-
cover real problems — well, it’s not the maga-
zine’s problem. The journalists can simply re-
turn their borrowed machines and try the latest
models.

At Les Bell and Associates, we have a large invest-
ment in hardware and software, such as the IBM
Pc, the Lisa, the Compupro and other
machines, while YC has multiple Compupros,
Olivettis and all kinds of hardware. We found
even after reading the reviews and selecting
exactly the right products there's a lot of work to
do before everything works right. That's what YC
is about.

Because there are deficiencies in other pub-
lications’ abilities to properly support their
readers, let alone themselves, after they've
bought their computers, it would pay readers
(and advertisers) to ask where the publishers’
interests lie. With so many publications in an
overcrowded market, there's a lot of wheeling
and dealing going on.

Circulation is the supposed ‘name of the
game’. a higher circulation enables magazines

to get more advertising and charge more for it.
However, at least one magazine has been

6

va. Our
‘| Noses Clean

attempting to boost a flagging circulation by
sending free copies to owners of brand X
machines who didn’t request it and may not
even bother reading it. These copies are actually
paid for by the manufacturer of brand X, who
naturally expects (and gets) disproportionate
coverage in the magazine.

The same magazine will not respond to re-
quests for cancellation of subscriptions, they
simply keep sending the magazine regardless.
Advertisers must ask themselves whether all
the claimed readers are actually reading the
magazine and seeing their advertisements.

Other magazines are simply free to whoever
wants them — but remember, there's no such
thing as a free lunch. These magazines are paid
for by the advertisers, and the publishers there-
fore have a vested interest in promoting the
advertisers’ products. With one magazine (sold
on news-stands and by subscription) actually
directly paid for by two major advertisers, read-
ers must ask themselves what is unbiased
editorial and what is disguised advertising. The
other advertisers should ask themselves if they
are getting a fair shake.

A brawl between two publishers in the letters

column of the advertising trade journal AdNews.

has done nothing to enhance their professional
images. While each accuses the other of falsify-
ing circulation figures, or at least, being very
selective about the truths they tell, they have
simply revealed that neither understands the
nature of magazine readership research.
Recently, the Advertising Standards Council
upheld complaints by two of the industry week-
lies that the advertising placed by a newcomer
was in breach of the Advertising Code of Ethics.
As an independent consultant and author,
the major asset | possess is my credibility. It’s
important to me to remain unbiased and free of
any pressure, and important for professional
success that this should be seen to be so. | feel
confident that the same can be said for Your
Computer's publishers and the other contrbutors
and reviewers. | wish it could be said for other
Magazines. LES BELL

EDITOR
Natalie Filatoff

CONSULTING EDITOR

Les Bell

NEWS EDITOR

Rose Vines

SUB-EDITOR

Kate Storey

ART & DESIGN

Mark Elder

ADVERTISING PRODUCTION
Danny Hooper

MANAGING EDITOR

Matt Whelan

PUBLISHER

Michael Hannan
CONTRIBUTORS

Australia: Brendan Akhurst, Bill
Bolton, Annette Brown, Darren
Challis, Andrew Farrell, Phil Grouse,
John Hepworth, Norman Kemp,
Frank Lee, Peter Lynden, Bruce
Mitchell, John Nicholls, Jeff Richards,
Rod Stevenson, Dom Swinkels, Colin
Tringham.

United States: Howard Karten
OFFICE SERVICES

Felicity Skinner

SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES
Julie Plummer

ADVERTISING SALES

Damien Prins, Andrea Beaty (NSW
Advertising)

David Farrington (Victorian Aclvertising)
OFFICES

NSW

140 Joynton Ave, Waterloo 2017.
(02) 663-9999

Telex: FEDPUB AA74488

Victoria

150 Lonsdale St, Melbourne 3000.
(03) 662-1222

Telex: FEDPUB AA34340

Western Australia

Tony Allen and Ass.

7 Fore Street, Perth 6000.

(09) 328 9833 Telex: AA94382 POSPE
Queensland

John Perry, Federal Publishing, 25
Balaciava St, Woolloongabba 4102;
(07) 391 8922. Telex AA145520.
South Australia

Steve Birbeck, Admedia Group,

24 Kensington Rd, Rose Park 5067.
(08) 332-8144

New Zealand

Chris Horsley, 4A Symonds Court,
Symonds St, Auckland, NZ.

Telex: TEXTURE 260753

Source Mail: Les Bell TCY314;

Matt Whelan TCY267.

Bulletin Board:

(02) 662-1686 — Les Bell 1085,

Matt Whelan 1, or leave a message
in comments.

YOUR COMPUTER is published
monthly by the Federal Publishing
Company Pty Ltd. Printed by ESN -
The Litho Centre, Waterloo 2017,
phone (02) 662-8888.

Editorial and NSW Advertising:
140 Joynton Avenue, Waterloo 2017.
Telex: FEDPUB AA7 4488.
Typeset by Frontier Technology,
Spit Junction NSW; phone (02) |
960-2788.

Distributed nationally by Gordon &
Gotch. Registered for posting as a
publication — Publication No.
NBP4384. See ‘Public Domain’

section for information on copyright,
contributions, reader services and

subscriptions.

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TAB CHOOSES A
CHEAPIE

Punters in outback Western Au-
stralia will soon be able to lose as
much as their city counterparts,
thanks to a $500 Commodore
computer.

The TAB in WA is in the process
of installing modern betting faci-
lities in some of the most remote
parts of the state, with a com-
puterised betting service linked
to Telecom’s Austpac service. Au-
stpac provides STD facilities for
the cost of a local call and time
used on the system.

A TAB team led by Computer
Services Manager Richard Bris-
bane-Cohen took less than six
months to initiate a service utilis-
ing Austpac, a Commodore 64
keyboard, a small thermal printer,
an inexpensive VDU and a
modem.

According to Mr Brisbane-
Cohen, the team was after off-the-
shelf equipment which was
robust and easy to maintain. “The
most common and least expen-
sive terminal was the Commod-
ore 64, which was compatible
with our requirements. and en-
joyed the added advantage of
being easy to program.”

TAB staff developed the re-
quired software in BASIC and

Assembler and the program was

burnt into a game cartridge. The
first location to receive the new
TAB service was the mining town
of Leinster in the Eastern Gold-
fields. A sub-agency service now
operates from a de-licensed area
of the town’s ‘wet’ canteen under
the direction of canteen person-
nel, who were trained by TAB
staff. The facility is programmed
to give Leinster punters the full
range of TAB services.

The TAB hopes to establish
sub-agencies in the next six
months at outlets such as news-
agents, video shops and hoteis in
locations which may include
Panawonica, Denham, Raven-
sthorpe, Hopetoun, Lake Grace,
Shay Gap and Argyle diamond
mine.

TAB staff believe the life of the
technology employed in the new
system will be about three years.
Although the system is streets
ahead of the telex method which
has. been employed in remote

8

Bkee TICE th

(ace

Fi &
PL fi
mm ii

areas since 1976, there are some
limiting factors, such as the
speed of entry of bets, which now
averages around three per mi-
nute, compared with 12 in coun-
try agencies and 50 at city loca-

tions. O

COMPUTER SKILLS
FOR THE
UNEMPLOYED

A new computer training course,
designed to give 18 young people
a chance to learn computer op-
erations and other office skills,
has been launched in Matraville,
a suburb of Sydney.

The course is being funded by a
grant of $46,949 from the Federal

NewS

Department of Employment and
Industrial Relations under its Ex-
perimental Training Projects
Program, and sponsored by
Peninsula Community Services.
The first session is underway,
with a second already scheduled.

The training project is called

Compuskill, and to be eligible to
participate trainees must be be-
tween 18 and 24 years old, able to
touch-type at 20 words per mi-
nute, and have been unemployed
for at least four months.

At the end of the course, Com-
puskill staff will advise students
on deciding what kind of work
they would like to do and will also
provide practical assistance in
finding suitable positions. Stu-
dents who have completed pre-
vious courses have had a high
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ployment.

As the course progresses, stu-
dents will learn word processing,
basic computer programming
and electronics and other gener-
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Project manager for the course,
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sonal skills through participating
in group sessions, and by using
films and videos featuring office,
job-search and occupational
health skills. Communication and
confidence-building techniques
will also be taught.

‘The main object of the prog-
ram is to train disadvantaged
young people to a standard
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NEWS

IBM ResearcHEs PARALLEL
PROCESSING

IBM's Research Division is designing a research tool for advanced
computer science studies — an experimental ‘highly parallel’ com-
puter.

The initial purpose is to gauge the usefulness of large-scale parallel-
ism — many processors working on a single task — in solving a variety
of complex problems. At present, most highly parallel machines work
on a single class of problem.

The machine — the RP3, or Research Parallel Processor Project — is
to use operating system software designed and written by a group at
New York University’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences.

The initial version of the RP3 is being designedas a processor unit to
validate the concept and to test its ability to do a variety of tasks. By
interconnecting eight of the 64-processor units, RP3 will be extensible
to 512 processors, linked in parallel and connected to as many as two
billion characters of main memory.

The 51 2-processor version of the RP3 should operate at a sustained
speed of approximately one billion instructions per second in its
maximum configuration and perform certain mathematical calcula-
tions — called floating-point operations — in bursts of 800 million per
second.

Challenges to parallel processing
The RP3 is intended to explore the application of parallel processing to
computer-aided design, so-called ‘expert systems’ and advanced artifi-
cial intelligence projects, in areas such as visual perception.

The. basic ideas behind parallel processing are simple: divide ap-
plications into many small sections and solve them simultaneously.
Two processors will work twice as fast as one, three will triple the speed,
and soon. In.addition, such an approach could have important benefits
for system reliability and availability.

However, while parallel processing carries significant promise, the
field is very much in its infancy and several basic issues have to be
resolved, Two of these issues are obvious: one is the nature of the
computational problems, and the other comes from the proposed
solution.

First, not all problems can be conveniently fragmented, solved in
parallel and re-assembled. Some are inherently serial, and must be
solved as a series of steps, or contain small serial portions that will
seriously impair parallel performance. For example, a five per cent
serial portion in an application will limit the computing speed up to 20
times — no matter how many processors are used.

This means some applications will never be practical candidates for
parallel processing, although it is not immediately obvious which
problems are inherently serial. Studies on how to partition programs
for parallel computation, and understanding the performance that can
be delivered by a given computer architecture over a range of applica-
tions, thus become of critical importance.

The second issue is a ‘traffic’ problem springing from the nature of
parallelism. As a large number of processors engage in a task, simul-
taneous attempts to fetch data can quickly create a kind of tie-up that
nullifies the anticipated speed advantage of multiple processors.

The RP3 continues parallel processing research that began at IBM in
1979. This work has produced special-purpose parallel machines used
within IBM for basic research and for computer design automation. The
current work is an extension of collaboration. between the 1BM Thomas
| Watson Research Centre in Yorktown Heights, New York, and groups
in several academic institutions, most significantly the ‘Ultracomputer
Project at New York University. It is one of several current [BM projects
aimed at understanding computing systems with a number of proces-
sors connected in parallel.

IBM hopes to share the RP3 with qualified academic and govern-
ment users, and is therefore seeking partial government funding for the

construction of a hardware prototype.

NEwS

for employment,” said Ms Rigby.
"To achieve this, students will be
given work experience in com-
mercial settings, both within the
Compuskill centre and in outside
business placements.”

All recruitment for the course
will be handled by the Maroubra
Junction CES. J

NOTATION IN
NANOSECONDS

Oxford University will soon re-
lease its Oxford Music Processor
(OMP), a computer program likely
to revolutionise the way in which
musical notation is prepared for
printing. It will enable the music
publishing industry and musi-
cians of all kinds to provide them-
selves easily with musical nota-
tion of the highest standard.

OMP carries out almost all the
tasks which have traditionally re-
quired painstaking and slow
manual arrangement of musical
notation on the page. With this
program, the computer takes all
the various rules of notation de-
sign into consideration, and is
claimed to produce a finished
product within a tenth of the time
required by traditional methods.

Richard Vendome, of the uni-
versity’s Faculty of Music, de-
veloped the program while work-
ing on his post-graduate thesis.
"My thesis presented the enor-
mous task of transcribing 400
keyboard works from 17th Cen-
tury manuscripts into modern
notation. Over the course of
several years, | developed soft-
ware for the encoding, editing
and printing of this music.”

Vendome’s main goal was to
assemble the music in a publish-
able form and to combine speed
of input and quality of output. So
far, nearly ten thousand pages of
music have been processed,
many of which have now been
published.

According to Vendome, music
can be keyed into the computer
very easily, and the system has
been successfully used by musi-
clans with no knowledge of com-
puting and by young children. The
essentials can be learnt in one
hour, with rhythm and pitch being
input in separate passes through
a standard computer keyboard. A
four-part score would be input by

eight successive ‘sweeps’, each at
roughly the speed it would take to
play the music. As Vendome puts
it: "The Minute Waltz might take
more than eight minutes to pro-
cess, while traditional methods
would take hours.”

Best news about the system is
that it is currently being de-
veloped to run on home compu-
ters. With funds from the British
Technology Group and support
from Oxford University Press,
Vendome has been awarded a
three-year research appointment
to develop the system for person-
al computers. At the same time,
he is adding other facilities, such
as word underlay, and exploring
the possibility of using laser prin-
ters.

The program will be published
by Oxford University Press in
1986, in the form of a case-bound
user's guide and reference manu-
al, with a suite of programs on
floppy disk. ie}

IBM EMPLOYEES
DIE IN CRASH

Philip D Estridge, vice-
president for !BM PC manufac-
turing in the US, was one of
those killed in the recent major
air crash at Dallas. Estridge’s
wife, Mary Ann, and about [8
other!BM employees also died
in the crash.

Estridge was a major force in
developing the IBM PC as the
market leader for 16-bit micro-
computers. He visited Austra-
lia twice, once in 1983 when he
was guest speaker at the NSW
branch conference of the Au-
stralian Computer Society, and
again in 1984 when he assisted
in setting up the IBM Australia
PC manufacturing plant at
Wangaratta. (a)

SMASHING
SOFTWARE

The National Roads and Motor-
ists’ Association (NRMA) has re-
leased to the public a new com-
puter system which caters specifi-
cally to the demands of the
smash repair trade. Called Mic-

roquote and Microquote Busi-P>

CICADA css
The new VIATEL-MODEM with all the
legendary Performance and Reliability
of the CICADA 300 series.
Fully Telecom approved.

Approval No.C85/3037/1358

(R)CICADA is the registered Trade Name
of CENTRE INDUSTRIES

CENTRE INDUSTRIES

ELECTRONICS &
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
a EXPERTISE

187 Allambie Road, Ailambie Heights, NSW 2100

Telephone (02) 4515555 After Hours (02) 451 6244
Telex AA 22671

Sole Australian Distributor:

R.F. COMPUTER COMMUNICATION PTY. LTD.
Suite 30, 456 St. Kilda Road,
Melbourne, VIC.

Phone (03)2671011

13

ness Manager, the system was de-
veloped from the NRMA’s ex-
isting Compuquote software.

According. to early users of the
system, Microquote saves time
on quoting, gives instant job cal-
culations and provides profes-
sional-looking quotes — as one
user said, "particularly important
for an industry lacking a highly
credible image.”

Microquote also handles job
costing and control of work flow.
Graham Hart of Windsor Motors,
who has used the system, re-
ported: “It is often hard to keep an
even flow of work and ensure
you're making as much as possi-
ble when you're busy. Microquote
gives you an accurate picture of
work being done for each [ob, how
much you've made on each job
and the efficiency of each area of
work.” —

Working in conjunction with
the Microquote system is the
Microquote Business Manager.
This is a cash management sys-
tem which controls all debtor and
creditor procedures and provides
instant cash analysis.

The NRMA has. joined forces

with Intelligence Australia to
supply and install the hardware
and provide the training and sup-
port for the system. More in-
formation can be obtained from

Maria Nash at Compuquote, (02)
260 9251. (]
QUEENSLAND

COMPUTER EXPO

The focus for computer shows
moves north in November, with
Computer Expo ‘85 to be held at
the Crest International Hotel in
Brisbane.

Now in its third year, the Expo
attracts. exhibitors from all parts
of Australia. Companies display-
ing their goodies this year will in-
clude Apple, IBM, Hewlett-
Packard, Wang, Data General,
NEC, Televideo, Epson, Ericsson,
Tandy, Commodore and Mic-
robee.

According to the organiser,
Robert Woodland, the timing of
the Expo has been perfect, as new
products released at the Pan
Pacific Computer Exhibition in
Melbou.ne will be brought up for

NewS

display at the Expo. This will be
the best chance in the year for

Queenslanders to get a close look

at a large range of the latest soft-
ware and hardware.
The show is not only geared

THE IMPERSONAL
TOUCH

A West Coast US company,
Autocomm Corporation, has
developed a ‘computerised
calling system’ which will
automate repetitive telephone
calls. The Autocomim Messen-
ger uses the Texas Instru-
ments’ Professional Computer
and TI's Speech Command
System as the basis for the
system.

This friendly little package
automatically dials a list of
telephone numbers, plays a re-
corded message and records a
response. Ideal, so the press
release goes, for schools
wishing to report to parents.on
problems such as absenteeism
or failing grades, or for your

towards the business community,
but also features a huge range of
equipment for education, home
and hobby use.

For more information contact
Robert Woodland, (07) 372 3233.

bank to inform you you've hit
the red.

In fact, it sounds indispens-
able for any business or orga-
nisation wanting to make its
clients feel like numbers.
Numerous uses spring to
mind: replying to unsuccessful
job applicants; letting welfare
recipients know they've had
their benefits cut; or any inst-
ance when personal contact
might involve emotions or
time-wasting explantions.

The Messenger will handle
40 difficult customers per hour
and can sort recipients into
seven categories for specially
impersonalised messages.
When finished with its hit list,
it will function as a normal TI!
Professional Computer. Just
the sort of product to make
personal computers universa!-
ly beloved.

MORE XTRAS

After restricting sales of its ITT
Xtra Personal Computer to
selected corporate clients, tele-
communications giant STC has
now decided to offer the machine
to the general public.

STC's decision to tackle the PC
area represents a significant shift
in its marketing emphasis. The
company is arming itself with
products it claims will make it a
force in the crowded personal
computer market. At the same
time, the National Sales Manager
of STC’s new Personal Computer
Division, Hilton Gray, says his
Organisation is throwing down a
challenge to the PC industry lead-
er, [BM.

"STC is positioning itself to
compete head-on with IBM for
personal computer sales. We're
now releasing the ITT Xtra to the
public, and a more powerful mod-
el, the ITT Xtra XP, will soon arrive
in Australia. Both persona! com-
puters are completely compatible
with IBM PCs; however, our XP is
3.5 times faster than the standard

IBM PC.”

Hilton Gray believes a key to
STC’s drive into the marketplace
will be QNX, a multi-user, multi-
tasking operating system incor-
porating local area network sup-
port, which allows STC’s PCs, [BM
PCs, ATs and compatibles to sup-
port ten terminals. “We believe
ONX is the only operating system
in Australia, or indeed the world,
to offer so many advanced fea-
tures. No other PC operating sys-
tem has such sophisticated mul-
ti-user capabilities.”

STC will use its existing service
network to support its comouter

a a jose hn ee eT

ness community's PC dollars. O

PROPHET GAINS A
UNIVERSE

AED has donated a Universe Su-
percomputer to the Prophet Bul-
letin Board; the new computer
will be used as the basis of a mul-

NEWS

ti-access system. Larry Lewis, sys-
tem operator of Prophet, hopes to
have the multi-user system fully
installed by the end of October.
To coincide with the introduc-
tion of the new hardware and
software, a user group will be
formed to allow better com-
munication between the system
users and operators and to en-
able users to meet in the flesh.
Prophet’s number is (02) 628
7030 and sysop Larry Lewis can
be contacted at PO Box A497,
Sydney South 2000. CO

=e

Don't forget Your Computer's
synergistic beer drinking on
the first Wednesday of each
month. The last couple have
been lively affairs, and we ex-
pect the spring weather will
encourage some new faces to
come along and partake of the
badinage and beverages.

The venue is the Clock
Hotel, 470 Crown Street, Surry
Hills, Sydney, and we attempt
to get there around 6 pm.
Come along and let us know
how we can make the maga-
zine better for you. CO

AITA TASKFORCE
TO STAMP OUT RSI

Following hot on the heels of gov-
ernment enquiries into the inci-
dence of repetition strain injury
(RSI}, the Australian Information
Industry Association has come UD
with a package to educate and
train managers on health and
safety aspects of computer-based
equipment in the workplace.

For a neat $500, managers can
obtain training and a kit, which
consists of a lesson plan, a book-
let entitled Introducing Computer-
based Equipment into the Workplace
visual material and background
Papers. Areas covered in the
booklet include vision, radiation
and musculo-skeletal disorders,
design of jobs and employer/em-
ployee relationships.

The AllA, which comprises 60
companies, claims its efforts are
directed at the prevention of
problems, and is looking at spon-

soring a more thorough study of

RSI in the near future.

Further news on the RSI front js
the release of an interim report
on RSI by the RSI Committee of
the National Occupational
Health and Safety Commission

Some of the report's findings
are:

B RSI is not an Australian dig.
ease, nor js it new; there is irre.
futable evidence for its exjct.
ence in other developed coun.
tries, and the history of psy
goes back several hundred
years.

@ The variety of terms used over
seas to describe RSI has prob.
ably contributed to the belief
thatitisa peculiarly Australian
CONUIUON, wren it dutualty
widely recognised interna-
tionally under names such as
occupational cervico-brachia]
disorder or musculo-skeleta|
injury.

@ While most recent publicity on
RSI has concerned female
keyboard workers, the condi-
tlon has in fact been wide-
spread among both men and
women in many Occupations
and activities. Occupations
cited in the report include pro-
cess workers, shearers, musi-
cians, hairdressers, telegraph-
ists and cash register oper-
ators.

B® RS! is preventable, and there isa
large body of knowledge in the
fields of ergonomics and work
environment studies that can
and should be productively ap-
plied,

The report found current
occupational health services
generally inadequate, particu-
larly in small firms. a)

No DEAD-END FoR
VIC

Despite the commercial demise
of the Commodore VIC-20 com-
puter, there is still a large number
of enthusiastic users remaining
who have no intention of dispos-
ing of their machines. To support
this group, the ACT VIC-20 Users’
Association has committed itself
to continuing to produce its bi-
monthly magazine, Vic.

The magazine costs $2 per
issue and is full ofarticles entirely
devoted to the VIC-20. The asso- >

15

ciation also distributes public do-
main software for a small copying
fee, maintaining a library of
around 900 programs. This ser-
vice ts Open to non-members as
well as members of the associa-
tion.

Despite the end of association
meetings, free advertising, soft-
ware consulting and special deals
on books, disks, tapes and hard-
ware are still available to. mem-
bers.

If you have a VIC and need
some support, drop the associa-
tion a line. The contact is Chris

Groenhout, 25 Kerferd Street,

Watson 2602; (062) 41 2316. O

WANG FUNDS
DANCE FANTASIES

In one of the largest-ever arts

world sponsorships in Australia,

Wang Computer has pledged
three quarters of a million dol-
lars’ support to the Sydney Dance
Company.

The move makes Wang the
principal sponsar and gives the

TEST FOR
SHRINK-WRAP LAW

A good deal of American software

particularly the more expen-
sive variety — comes with a sim-
ple ‘licence agreement’, usually
inserted just beneath the plastic
shrink-wrapping or on a sealed
envelope enclosing the software.
By unsealing the shrink-wrap or
opening the envelope, buyers are
assumed to tacitly accept the
agreements, which have had few,
if any, challenges in court.

Although some wags have
alleged the law gives software
purchasers the right to keep their
own teeth and not much else, the
provisions of the agreements are
in fact fairly simple. One licence
agreement, for example, states
that the vendor retains ownership
of the product. The Lotus 1-2-3
agreement doesn’t explicitly
make that statement, but, like
most licence agreements, pro-
hibits unauthorised duplication
and/or telecommunication of the
software and manual, or mod-
ifications, sublicensing or various
other malfeasances.

Those licensing agreements
have now come under attack in
the state of Louisiana, and since
both American and Australian
law stem from British Common
Law the outcome of the case
could eventually have repercus-
sions in Australia.

Americans think of Louisiana
less as a high-tech haven and
more as a festive location, best

16

Dance Company a financial
guarantee into 1988. The three-
year sponsorship was announced
by Graeme Murphy, the com-
pany’s artistic director, before the
first-night audience of After Venice
at the Sydney Opera House. It
flaws on from continuous spon-
sorship Wang has given the com-
pany since August 1983.

The first direct effect of the new
sponsorship will be the produc-
tion of Murphy's most ambitious
undertaking to date. Entitled
Boxes, the work will be staged at
the Sydney Opera Theatre from

November 7 Murphy will join
forces with Iva Davies and Bob
Kretschmer of Icehouse to pro-
duce a musical and dance spec-
tacular.

Of the sponsorship Graeme
Murphy says: ‘This is a one-in-a-
million sponsorship with no
strings attached, and will give us
even greater freedom to explore
our wildest fantasies of contem-
porary dance. Thanks to Wang we
have not had to compromise over
the past two years. Now we can
plan ahead with the same sense
of daring.” O

BY HOWARD KARTEN

known for the Mardi Gras, Creole
food, and voodoo. However, the
Louisiana Software Licensing Act
is designed to put teeth into the
licensing agreements. In the Un-
ited States District Court in
Louisiana, Vault Corporation of
Westlake Village, California, ts
suing Quaid Software of the pro-
vince of Ontario, Canada.

Vault makes a copy-protection
scheme called Pralok. Quaid
makes Copywrite, a checkily-
named utility for IBM PCs which
allows users to copy ‘protected’
software. Copywrite is even said
to be capable of copying software
protected by Prolok. Vault alleges
that to incorporate that feature
Quaid must have disassembled
or atherwise ‘reverse engineered’
Prolok — an action prohibited by
the Louisiana law.

Attorneys for both sides, as
well as throughout the industry,
are watching the case closely in
the belief that it’s a test case
which will set a significant prece-
dent, regardless of the outcome.
Additionally, several other Amet-
ican states are contemplating
similar bills, although few states
have actually enacted them.

IBM Buys a
PiEcE oF MCI

MCI Communications Corpora-
tion of Washington DC is the up-
start long-distance communica-
tions company which deserves
most of the credit for unseating

AT&T as the sole provider of long-
distance telephone services in
the United States. IBM recently
gave 60 per cent of its interest in
Satellite Business Systems to
MCI in exchange for ownership of
16 percent of MCI. The agreement
between MC! and IBM enables
IBM to acquire a maximum of 30
per cent of MCI, which also oper-
ates a well-received nationwide
electronic mai! service.

IBM has recently been invest-
ing in a variety of firms in the
telecommunication business. For
a while it was. an investor in the
American firm Mitel, and more re-
cently it completely purchased
United States phone maker Rolm
of California. The IBM-MCI com-

bination is. [BM’s first venture
with a voice communications car-

rier. However, IBM also operates

‘several networks for internal cus-

tomer use, such as its own
nationwide voice communica-
tions system and the IBM In-
formation Network, linking sever-
al different large-scale processors
across America.

It's widely believed IBM and
AT&T began a head-to-head bat-
tle in January 1983, when the Un-
ited States government ended
anti-trust suits against both com-
panies on the same day, thus
freeing the companies for more
ageressive competition. In Amer-
ica AT&T markets the 6300 and
7300 IBM-campatible micros,
which compete against IBM

In a separate move, AT&T and
Amdahl recently announced a
joint venture under which they

will attempt to market a packet-
switching system to the Japanese.

Harp Disk on A Carp

Mechanical microcomputer com-
ponents. in general have been
coming down in size more slowly
than purely electronic parts. Re-
cently, however, a Californian
hard disk maker has. achieved a
significant breakthrough: a 10
Mbyte hard disk. on a plug-in card.
The product, slated for first ship-
ment (at $SUS1095) in October, is
being made by Plus Development
Corporation, a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Quantum in Milpi-
tas, Californta.

The Hardcard is 33 cm long by
10 cm wide — the standard
dimensions for a plug-in board —

and only 2.5 cm thick. The unit is

said to have a disk head access
time of 65 milliseconds, com-
pared to the 85 milliseconds re-
quired by the IBM PC XT’s hard
drive. Power consumption is very
modest — less than 11 watts,
according to the vendor — which
means it can be used without fear
of blowing out the power supply
of the IBM PC.

One aspect of the marketing is
especially interesting: the war-
ranty apparently will allow users
to swap malfunctioning cards on-
the-spot for new ones. This
assumes, of course, that users
have adequate backup of the data
on their own Hardcards, and that
they trust the retailer (or the ven-
dor) to destroy any confidential
data on the card. O

Until now your IBM

nas been working with
its hands tied.

No matter how outstanding the performance of your PC, without
communications its full potential has not been utilised. Now a new
world has been opened up to you and your PC. The NetComm PC
In/Modem is Australia’s first IBM modem to be approved by Telecom
— and ifs internal, too. For the first time, packages like Crosstalk,
Relay, Symphony or Open Access will work properly. And it’s fully
aufomatic. tf gives you Auto Dial, Auto answer, Auto disconnect.

It's also the first HAYES SMARTMODEM compatible Australian
designed and manufactured modem. Now, via the telephone
network, if can put your PC in touch with both local and overseas
data bases and most other PC’s

throughout the world.

A aa cee ah

T AUSTRALIAN’
PEIN sda

MVNO)

All this and Videotex too

Included with the modem you receive additional software as
well. The PC Videotex software means you can directly access
VIATEL, BULLETIN, AFTEL, ANZTELL as well as ELDERS IXL,
plus news, stockmarket reports and a host of other information.

All this, for $848, inclusive of tax
That's all it costs for what PC World has called “a landmark
peripheral* and which Your Computer has judged to be the
winner of its “Best Australian Hardware Award” for 1985. If
you want to untie the hands of your PC, see your PC dealer

Oo ——_—_— ee ee

FREE DISKETTE OFFER
Gel your FREE diskette with full operalion informatian on the PC
In/Modem and the full range of NetCamm MicroCompuler |
cammunications praducts, Offer expires June 30ih.
TO NetComm (Aust) Ply Lid P.O. Bax 2B4, Pymble 2073 NSW |
|] Pleose send me Ihe free diskette on the NetComm PC In/Modem
lhavean CIBMPC (CIPCXT (1 PC Portable |
MY NAME |

ADDRESS

P’CODE PHONE
MY COMPANY NAME, CONSULTANCY, OR SERVICE

— Ee ee SC—n ——— ———

Australia’s Network fo the world

NetComm (Aust) Pty Ltd PO Box 284 Pymble 2073 NSW Tel: (+61:2) 498 5577 Telex: Sycom AA27113 (NETCOMM)
Minerva: 58: DNC002 Viatel: 249855770

, There really is a difference
in diskette brands.

It’s in the way they are
made.

Because the computer
industry cannot afford
variation in the quality of
diskettes, at Nashua we
looked for, and founda
__way to ensure absolute
| consistency.

Here's how we do it.

Quality Circles.

At Nashua we've found
the best way to attain this
| ‘consistency’ is to ensure
that at each stage of
production our diskettes

Biitencer Te
_aflord mistakes. 42

are Statistically checked to
make sure the quality is
‘built-in’ every step of the
| way.
Rather than long
production lines, we have
‘Quality Circles’ — small
groups of people whose job
it is to make sure that each
| Nashua diskette is right in
the first place.

The result is a diskette
with such consistency, that
it is chosen by those people
who can’t afford mistakes.

Phone Sydney 958 2044,
Canberra 47 0511,
Melbourne 428 0501,
Brisbane 369 4244,
Adelaide 420021, Perth

| 3281888, Darwin 816204,
Auckland 2784299,
Christchurch/Dunedin
Whitcoulls Ltd, PNG
256766.

ve really isa difference.

Ruwald & Skinner 40] NA/A

a a a i a a TT er ESE

—

6 PARAS UN | REPAY

SO VIDSVdOTDADNG SH

letersi: = =sih
LSOWONIWadl dL dWwOSDOa aN

| oe eee eo Bd on Sree pe i
7 ej - Cree “4 hae = =I Ps =r

sarveef 20CttAd fursn oue Guipuejsiaaun

Ld Oost at
baa a 1a ae a sae OE ein te C= s a : Aa
WEUISAS-7 GsSon
y 1 } ] A . i arbi l t

In a little over three years Australia has undergone a
veritable data communications revolution, which is
continuing with increasing technological sophistication
appearing at all levels. Bill Bolton, our resident
comms historian, here documents our baudy past, and
samples some of the delights of the present.

t's an exciting thought to realise the
number of publicly accessible com-
munications ‘destinations’ in Austra-
lia has increased by approximately
1500 per cent in three years. Much of this
increase has come from small, micro-
computer-based public access messages
systems (see the PAMS listing in this arti-
cle), but there have been some significant
moves by commercial services into the
videotex area. |
Why choose only to refer to the past
three years? Prior to mid-1982 the only
‘direct-connect’ modems readily available
to the public had to be leased from Tele-
com through its Datel service. This was an
expensive and unwieldy arrangement,
which meant that generally only moderate
to high-volume business users could jus-
tify using direct-connect modems. The
alternative for low-volume users was to
use acoustic couplers, which were cumber-
some and, due to the general technology
level involved, not particularly reliable.
At that time in Australia, data com-
munications was restricted mainly to
dumb terminals talking to mainframe
hosts, or mainframe to mainframe syn-
chronous communications. One of the
reasons | started the Software Tools RCPM

was to gain some practical experience with’

small-systems communications, as I'd
found next to no one here who knew any-
thing at all about it.

From mid-1982 Telecom-approved
direct-connect modems started to become
commercially available, for around $300.

20

Communications

As well as accessing
Australian destinations,
Austpac allows connection
via OTC’s MIDAS to
many other similar
data-packet networks
throughout the world.

You could then own a modem which was
convenient to use and gave a highly reli-
able data connection in most cases. Auto-
answer modems also appeared, enabling
users to set up their own ‘host’ systems for
whatever purpose they wished. The num-
ber of computer users with modems grew
rapidly, and snowballed with the increas-
ing number of systems available to call.

This growth took place when standard
modems were using 300 bps (that’s about
30 characters a second) data rates, since
that was the most commercially viable
technology for establishing a modem mar-
ket in Australia.

Meanwhile, in America

About the time Australia was waking up to
the possibilities of broadly based public
data communications, the United States
was well and truly through that first phase
of development. The need for faster com-

COMMUNICATION S~— A BAUD TALE

munications was driving the market froma
300 bps data communications rate to a
1200 bps (about 120 characters a second)
data rate.

Telecommunications in the United
States was never as tightly regulated as it
is in Australia, allowing a wide variety of
data communications services to develop
over a long period of time. Australians
looked at what was taking place in the
United States market and tried to import at
least some of the American ideas. A few
types of data communications services
have survived the Pacific crossing to be-
come a great success, such as the concept
of public access message systems. Others,
such as commercial information utilities,
have so far met with only a lukewarm re-
sponse.

Performance

A good part of the success or failure of
particular services has been due to the dif-
ference in the commonly available com-
munications rates in the United States and
Australia. Just saying that 1200 bps is four
times as fast as 300 bps doesn't give you
any real idea of the significance of that
speed increase. In many cases the psycho-
logical impact of data communication
speeds is considerable; things which work
well at 1200 bps can be incredibly tedious
at 300 bps. This is one reason why com-
mercial information utilities have so far
met with poor acceptance here.

For several years | have been regularly
using one or the other of the two major
American commercial information utili-
ties. While | was only able to access the
services at 300 bps, | more or less stoically
accepted the general performance level,
but I always felt there seemed to be little
sense in the endless menus | was pre-
sented with. | spent a lot of time figuring
out ways to circumvent the menu systems
and got lost half the time in a complex
array of service choices.

About 18 months ago | started using

_ 1200 bps to access these information utili-

ties and my whole view of them changed.
In retrospect, it was obvious that whoever
had designed them had assumed not
many users would be accessing them at
300 bps, and had carefully set everything
up to work most effectively, from a human
communications point of view, at 1200
bps. At the higher speed the menu systems

actually worked as ‘road maps’ through the

complexity of services, whereas at 300 bps
they were more of a distraction than any-

thing else. The 300 bps rate had encour-
aged me to read and answer everything
while on-line, but the fast 1200 bps rate
changed my. mode of operation, enabling
me to capture what | wanted and read it
later off-line. I'd then prepare my replies
off-line and send them as files back to the
utility, rather than typing them in directly.
Technically, there was no reason why |
couldn't have done this at 300 bps, it’s just
that psychologically it wasn’t attractive to
me.

The problem on the whole with Austra-
lian commercial information utilities is
that they have either been modelled close-
lyonsimilar American systems, or if locally
developed have had little thought put into
the nature of their user interfaces for low-
speed communications. In either case they
have ended up being frustrating for 300
bps users.

Things are changing in Australia. A
pseudo 1200 bps standard has appeared
on many commercial modems (though for
good technical reasons it is not widely
used, except for videéotex), while true full-
duplex 1200 bps modems are now readily
available. And instead of being nearly four
years behind the United States in terms of
introducing new small-systems com-
munications technology, as was the case
with 1200 bps full-duplex modems, Austra-
lia is now only a matter of months behind
with 2400 bps full-duplex modem tech-
nology.

Available Services

There is quite a range of public data com-
munications services available in Australia
today. What follows is a brief and personal
overview of some of these. | certainly don't
use all the types of services available, and
of those | do use, | access some only occa-
sionally and some intensively. You should
be aware that there are more public and
private communications services available
than are mentioned here.

Packet Networks
There are two publicly accessible, general-
traffic ‘packet networks’ in Australia. Tele-
com Australia runs a service called Aust-
pac, which covers most capital citles and
some provincial centres. Most small-
system users access Austpac via casual
‘dial-up’ access ports, at 300 bps full du-
plex, 1200/75 bps or 1200 bps full duplex.
Most host services on Austpac are con-
nected via synchronous X.25 links.
Austpac communications charges are
generally much lower than equivalent STD

Communications

lt seems lo me the major
problem with Viatel is that
the information density is
too low. In other words,
you have to look at
several screens to get any
worthwhile amount of
information — and that
fakes time.

phone rates. You can be charged for Aust-
pac in one of two ways. First, you can
apply to Telecom for an NUI (Network User
Identifier). Once Telecom has issued you
with an NUI you can log onto any publicly
accessible packet service on Austpac or an
interconnected network, and your com-
munications charges will be billed to you
by Telecom. With Australian host services
it is possible to arrange reverse charging,
which means you wouldn't rieed an NUI
from Telecom. The host service provider
gives you its Austpac address, and when
you log into Austpac and specify that
address, the Austpac charges go to the
host service. The host service provider
then bills you for Austpac communica-
tions charges, and for your connect time to
the host. Teledata is one Australian service
that supports reverse charging.

As well as accessing Australian destina-
tions, Austpac allows connection via OTC’s
MIDAS to many other similar data-packet
networks throughout the world. MIDAS is
the second packet network directly ac-
cessible in Australia. As well as being ac-
cessible through Austpac, MIDAS can be
dialled directly from anywhere in Australia
— though now the MIDAS charges are set
in such a way as to encourage users to
access it via Austpac where possible.

MIDAS is the data communications
gateway to the rest of the world. | regularly
access several United States. communica-
tions services using Austpac/MIDAS, and
on the whole it’s not much more compli-
cated than directly dialling a data service
here in Australia. Of course, international
communications of any sort are never
cheap, but the MIDAS charges are com-
mercially bearable, and in many cases data

communication via MIDAS is the only way AUSTRALIAN DIAL-UP SERWCES,,..

fr 09

to get vital business or technical informa-
tion quickly from overseas.

United States Services via MIDAS

| regularly use several United States data
communications services. These fall into
two classes: mail systems and information
utilities. Arcom Pacific, the company | work
for, communicates with several of its sup-
pliers via electronic mail,

The service we use most in the office is
MCI Mail, a slick electronic mail system
which is easy to operate and provides a
wide range of facilities for delivering mes-
sages electronically or generating hard
copy in the United States for courier or
postal delivery. You can also send telexes
through MCI Mail. The interface or PAD
(packet assembler/disassembler), be-
tween MIDAS and the MCI network in the
United States is half duplex, which means
you have to be careful when entering mes-
sages by hand. Though MCI is working on
correcting this problem for its internation-
al customers, at the moment it’s advisable
to prepare messages off-line and upload
them. OTC can provide information about
signing up for MCI Mail.

Easylink is another American electronic
mail system. I've only tried to use it a few:
times — and without much success, since
many of the messages I sent didn’t seem to
reach their destination properly. The Easy-
link user interface is complex and hard to

remember. A business associate uses >»

PA NS e
on’
ey 1S

2!

Easylink just to send telexes to the United
States and says it works well for that.

The information utility | use is the Com-
puserve Executive Information Service (or
CIS), a broadly based information utility
providing a very wide range of services
from home entertainment through busi-
ness data, general news, airline/travel
planning and booking, financial news,
electronic mail, electronic publishing, file
storage and forwarding, special-interest
group information and so on.

Several of Arcom Pacific's software sup-
pliers have special interest groups (SIGs)
on CIS. These SIGs provide an important
source of news, views and technical in-
formation that is vital for the effective
marketing and support of Arcom’s pro-

Communications

ducts in Australia and New Zealand.
CIS is well maintained and easy to use.

Many features may be programmed by the

user to suit his or her particular needs, and
the CIS on-line help systems and printed
documentation have been well thought
out. You can transfer files to CIS using
either of two CIS protocols or the Christen-
sen protocol.

CIS accounts have been hard to obtain
in Australia, but they are available. The
best places to start asking about a CIS
sign-up are computer user groups, of On
local PAMS systems.

Until the beginning of this year | was
using the Source information utility, but
cancelled my account after finding CIS to
be superior. Some of Arcom’s suppliers

have now started to provide SIGs on the
Source, so | may have to open an account
there again. Accounts on the Source have
been available in Australia for several
years; again, the best places to ask are
local computer user groups or PAM sys-
tems.

Australian Services via Austpac

The only public access domestic service |
have used via Austpac is Teledata in Mel-
bourne. Teledata was formerly the Austra-
lian Beginning, but has been working hard
on its image and services recently. Frankly,
the old Australian Beginning was not a
very handy communications utility. It was
difficult to drive and had no worthwhile file
transfer capabilities. Teledata is im->

PAMS Numbers

Australia

Queensland (EST)

Software Tools RCPM (ST-RCPM) (07) 378 9530 24 hours

BEX li RCPM (BEX-RCPM) (07) 395 1809 24 hours
Tomorrowland DIRECT (BRIS-TLD) (07) 286 2438 24 hours
COMPETRON IBBS (COMPT-IBBS) (07) 52 9294 24 hours
Hi-Tech C BBS (HTC-BBS) (07) 38 6872 24 hours

Texas Instruments (TI-BBS) (07) 263 6161 2100-0600 weekdays only
Brisbane Microbee RCPM (BMUG-RCPM) (07) 38 4833 24 hours
ACEA Commodore BBS (ACEA-BBS) (07) 341 0285 24 hours
Commodore Users BBS (BCUG-BBS) (07) 808 2125 24 hours
Cairns and District IBBS (CAD-IBBS) (070) 51 3582 1800-0800 + 24
hours weekends

Color Computer Link (COCO-LINK) (075) 32 6340 24 hours

New South Wales (EST)

Mi-Computer Club BBS (MiCC-BBS) (02) 662 1686 24 hours
Sydney Public Access RCPM (SPA-RCPM) (02) 808 3536 24 hours
Ausborne UG RCPM {AUSBD-RCPM) (02) 95 5377 24 hours
Tesseract RCPM (TES-RCPM) (02) 651-1404 24 hours

Omen RTRS (OM-RTRS) (02) 498 2495 1630-0900 + 24 hours
weekends

Sydney TRS-80 UG RTRS (STRUG-RTRS) (02) 332 2494 24 hours
Prophet BBS (PROPHET-BBS) (02) 628 7030 24 hours

Dick Smith Electronics (DSE-BBS) (02) 887 2276 24 hours
Tomorrowland DIRECT (SYD-TLD) (02) 411 2053 24 hours
Sydney Apple UG (AUG-BBS) (02) 451 6575 24 hours

Texas Instruments UG (TEXPAC-BBS) (02) 560-0926 1900-0600 +
24 hours weekends |

Oracle RTRS (ORACLE-RTRS) (02) 960 3641 0-1800 weekdays, 0-
0800 weekends

Sydney Commodore 64 BBS (SYDC64-BBS) (02) 664 2334 24 hours
AUGUR BBS (AUGUR-BBS) (02) 661 4739 24 hours
ABCOM-IBBS (ABCOM-IBBS) (047) 36 4165 24 hours

Newcastle Micro RCPM (NMC-RCPM) (049) 68 5385 1700-0830 +
24 hours weekends

ACT (EST)
Canberra IBBS (ACT-IBBS) (062) 58-1406 24 hours

22

Victoria (EST)

Melbourne CBBS. (MICOM-CBBS) (03) 762 5088 24 hours
TARDIS RCPM (TARDIS-RCPM) (03) 67 7760 1800-0800 + 24 hours
weekends

Sorcerer CUA RCPM (SCUA-RCPM) (03) 434 3529 24 hours

East Ringwood RCPM (ERING-RCPM) (03) 870 4623 1600-2400
daily

PC Connection IBBS (PCC-IBBS) (03) 528 3750 24 hours

HiSoft IBBS (HISOFT-IBBS) (03) 799 2001 24 hours

Computers Galore IBBS (CG-IBBS) (03) 561 8479 24 hours
OMEN IV RTRS (OM4-RTRS) (03) 846 4034 24 hours

MicroPro Computers RCPM (MICROP-RCPM) (03) 568 8180 24
hours

AM-NET RCPM (AMNET-RCPM) (03) 366 7055 24 hours
Microbee User Group RCPM (MMUG-RCPM) (03) 873 5734 24 hours
Gippsland MAIL BUS (GL-MBUS) (051) 27 7245 24 hours

Tasmania (EST)
Mike Scott's BBS (MS-BBS) (003) 34 9411 24 hours

South Australia (CST)

Adelaide Micro UG BBS (AMUG-BBS) (08) 271 2043 1000-2200
Computer Ventures BBS (CV-BBS) (08) 255 9146 24 hours
Electronic Oracle IBBS (EO-IBBS) (08) 260 6686 24 hours
OMEN V RTRS (OM5-RTRS) (08) 45 4666 1800-0700

NEXUS Ed. Dept BBS (NEXUS-BBS) (08) 243 2477 24 hours
Multiple BBS (MULTI-BBS) (08) 255 5116 24 hours

SA Commodore BBS (SAC64-BBS) (08) 382 4631 24 hours
Northern Territory (CST)

Outback RCPM (OUTB-RCPM) (089) 27 7111 24 hours
OMEN 1] RTRS (OM2-RTRS) (089) 27 4454 24 hours

Red Centre RCPM (REDC-RCPM) (089) 52 8852 24 hours

Western Australia (WST)
OMEN II] RTRS (OM3-RTRS) (09) 279 8555 0800-2400 + 24 hours
weekends

New Zealand (NZT)

Attache RBBS (ATT-RBBS) ISD: 64 9 78 9084; Domestic: (09) 76
9084 24 hours

Rotorua BBS (ROT-BBS) ISD: 64 73 70 154; Dornestic: (073) 70 154

“There are a number of reasons why
a multi-user 8086 is a good product.
The most important is that small
business can have several people who
need access to the same database and
application, and this cannot be
achieved in a practical fashion by
a collection of PCs or other micro-
computers.”

“Have a look at the Labtam 3003, it’s
running multiple users.”

“An IBM class machine running
several users.”

“It was clearly a multi-user desktop
machine and that was something for
Australia and Labtam to be proud of.”

“T guess I regard the Labtam 3003
desktop as being more important
than its UNIX (Labtam’s) machine
because it is meeting commercial
needs that were obvious, and which
have been missed by almost every
other supplier.”

] From “An Essential Reed”’.
KARL REED, Lecturer in Computer By Karl Reed
Science at Royal Melbourne Institute — Extract from Computerworld,
of Technology. May 31 1985.

Labtam Series 3000 multiple user computer systems in 8, 16 or 32 bit
configurations built for personal/ micro/ and mainframe computer
applications.

LABTAM: Head Office, Victoria. Telephone: (03) 587 1444.

New South Wales. Telephone: (02) 411 2588.

ACCREDITED DEALERS: A.M.S., New South Wales. Telephone: (02) 671 5800.
KPA Computer Systems, Queensland, Telephone: (07) 378 9877.

General Business Machines, South Australia. Telephone: (08) 42 0031.

(ahtam Macton Pty. Ltd., Western Australia, Telephone: (09) 382 3622.
eee Labtam Computers, You now know about us.

23

plementing a new user interface which
promises to be much better than the pre-
vious one, and wil] also soon have Christ-
ensen and Kermit protocols available for
file transfers. —

An exciting development on Teledata is
the introduction of ‘gateways’ to overseas
communications utilities. At present the
only gateway is to the ‘Official Airlines
Guide’ in the United States, but Teledata is
working on opening up gateways to other
services such as Compuserve and the
Source. The advantage of accessing these
services through Teledata is that accounts
can be opened locally, and you'll also be
billed by the local organisation.

These new developments could make

Teledata a very useful public access com-
munications utility for Australia, and the
people behind the service certainly seem
to be trying very hard to overcome the
indifferent reputation it has had to date.

Australian Dial-up Services

By ‘dial-up’ in this case ] mean services
connected directly to the public switched
telephone network, rather than to a packet
network.

For me these are almost exclusively
public access message systerns of one sort,
or another, They cover a wide range of
activities, but are mostly directed at distri-
buting public domain software for micro-
computers. The services are characterised
by being single-user, with one telephone
line (though a few are expanding to multi-
ple lines), and generally specialising ir
only a few types of computers or operating
systems. At the time of writing only two
systems were supporting data com-
munications rates higher than 300 bps.
The Outback RCPM in Darwin supports 300

Communications

It appears even the
videotex service vendors
who are promoting the use
of Viatel have probelms
with it. | left messages to
several service vendors and
equipment suppliers via
their response facilities on
Viatel, requesting
information for this article,
and didn't get any replies.
Maybe they don’t collect
their electronic mail!

a

bps and 1200/75 bps, while my Software
Tools RCPM in Brisbane supports 1200
and 2400 bps. I think this will change rapid-
ly and many systems will soon provide
1200 bps and possibly 2400 bps access.

PAMS systems are a rich source of useful
software and ideas, and an excellent place
to find out what is really happening with
small-systems communications. Your Com-
puter usually carries a column about PAMS
systems (not this month — you have this
article instead), so | won't labour the point
by going into more detail.

Viatel | eo
The last type of service I use is Viatel. Now |
haven't made up my mind about Viatel yet.

2A

MEANWHILE , IN AMGERAC Kore.

rr gr re

| signed up because the $12.50 introduc-
tory offer for a year's subscription was too
good to refuse, but until recently | haven't
found much use for this facility.

It seems to me the major problem with
Viatel is that the information density is too
low. In other words, you have to look at
sevetal screens to get any worthwhile
amount of information — and that takes
time. Recently Arcom Paeffic’s financial
controller discovered some financial ser-
vices on Viatel that were commercially
useful to the business, so we have been
getting some use from it lately, but that’s
only a couple of, pages from the whole
service.

It appears even the videotex service ven-
dors who are promoting the use of Viatel
have problems with it. | left messages to
several service vendors and equipment
suppliers via their response facilities on
Viatel, requesting information for this arti-
cle, and didn’t get any replies. Maybe they
don’t collect their electronic mail!

At the moment Viatel just doesn’t offer
many services of any value to me, either
personally or professionally, so I guess it's
got unti] next February when my accountis
due for renewal to convince me I should
renew. | have been frustrated by the fact.
that I need a special modem just to access
Viatel, as I find the 1200/75 modem stan-
dard not reliable enough for general use.
Despite several requests to Telécom, staff
there won't say if it intends to provide 1200
bps full-duplex public access to Viatel, and
I think the service runs the risk of being left
behind if it doesn’t provide this more reli-
able mode.

If you want to sign up for Viatel, just ask
any Telecom Business Office for details.

Trends

The thing to look for is higher-speed com-
munications as 1200 bps and 2400 bps
modems penetrate the Australian market-
place. Gateway services such as those
coming into operation through Teledata
wiil open up a broader range of data com-
munications to the small-systems user. At
least some of the PAMS systems will find
ways of getting onto Austpac, which
should make them more accessible to in-
terstate callers. The sophistication of
smail-systems communications software
wili advance by leaps and bounds in a
short time, and Australian PC data com-
munications users wiil catch up rapidly
with their United States counterparts in
the way they use computer communica-
tions.

THE GLEAR ADVANTAGE

THE OSBORNE PC .

COMPANY ADVANTAGE

Osborne has set industry standards for
the computer world. We are known for
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systems. We are proud that our designs
and level of quality created a new
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PC ADVANTAGE

NOW you can buy the OSBORNE 16 bit
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front. This exact IBM PC compatible has’
operational flexibility and day-in day-
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Running under Osborne’s unique
TRANS-NET local area network it will

: . 5 tee =
share a common network with up to — Ne a9 en td : oe pay
255 other Osborne PCs, IBMs or - ‘nl he . LT

compatible micro-computers. =

COMPATIBILITY ADVANTAGE ae

The Osborne PC is fully IBM hardware and software compatible and expandable. It will run all
commercially available software including Lotus 123, symphony, Framework, Flight Simulator
etc. It supports all add-on boards and cards including Hercules, Persyst, 3270 Emulation and
3-Com LAN. The Osborne 2100 is ideal for CAD/CAM applications supporting all high
resolution peripherals including Tecmar cards and monitors. The Osborne PC will cold boot
and run PC-DOS (all versions).

PRICE ADVANTAGE — FROM $3,200

With every new release we have exceeded the specifications of most of our competitors,
increased the quality and produced significant cost savings for our buyers. Osborne’s
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@ 256k Main Memory, expandable to 640k. e Five expansion slots. ® Two slim-line 360k EPSON
floppy drives. e 10mb or 20 mb Factory Fitted Hard disk (optional). e Paralle! — composite
mono, colour, TTL. e XT heavy duty power supply. @ On-board sockets for 8087 co-processor
and ROM Basic. @ Improved IBM style Keytronics keyboard. @ Full diagnostics. e Operating
System — MS-DOS 2.11 (standard), PC-DOS, CP/M 86, Concurrent CP/M, Concurrent PC-DOS.

WARRANTY ADVANTAGE
Full SIX MONTHS warranty. Service and backup Australia-wide from Hills Industries.

BONUS SOFTWARE ADVANTAGE
Osborne is the only PC that offers you the Release 2 Advanced Perfect
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, &
@)
ial

Available Australia-wide from

Ey
“Y p Ta a 2
C/ | , |
toy e OSBORNE
| 4 NF AY | = — 4 ?
‘ Co &E 7 a B 4 : 7
93 York St., SYDNEY. Phone 290-1122.

Telex 70510.
Fax 290-1558

Melbourne 20-7895,
Perth 384-5787,
Brisbane 870-3780,
Darwin 84-4636 Caringbah 524-6240,
Wollongong 27-1440, Sydney 290~1317.

GrafTalk is business graphics software that
works as hard for your business as you do.

You can use GrafTalk the way you’d like.

GrafTalk is flexible in accepting commands. You can type English-language commands

interactively, run commands from disk files or the in-built editor, or use GrafTalk’s menus if you

prefer.

GrafTalk has all the graphics features you need.
Choose from stacked, percentage, clustered or floating bars; exploded pies, line plots, scatter
diagrams and combinations of all of these. Adjust styles and sizes to suit your needs.

REPCO Balance Sheet 1983
Total Assets

OTHER _.
ASSETS A4SSET DISTAIBUTION

FIXED
ASSETS

— PROPEATY

Total Assets $m

ALUKA AAA ee

1979 1980 1981 1982
PREPARE DISPLAYS FOR ANNUAL REPORTS

Chances are it works with the hardware you
already have.

GrafTalk runs on CP/M-80 systems (even those without
screen graphics), the IBM-PC, Sirius, DEC Rainbow, Zenith
Z100, and many more. 16-bit systems need only 128kB of
memory.

GrafTalk drives so many screens, plotters, and

printers that we don't have room to list them all.
Development is continuing — watch for the release

of support for Apricot and the Textronic color ink-jet
printer.

SALES VOLUME

(Charts shown here were produced with Houston
and Hewlett-Packard plotters, on a Televideo 803.)

GrafTalk is a trademark of Redding Group Inc.
CP/M is a registered trademark of Digital Research.

Graftalk is easy to use

Even a first time user can produce a sophisticated
graph with a few simple commands. As you gain
more experience, you can choose to use any of
GrafTalk's more than 100 commands. Commands
are available that allow all degrees of “fine tuning”
for your graphs.

GrafTalk has excellent documentation
GrafTalk’s documentation is readable, complete and
easy to use. The User’s Manual consists of full color
examples designed to show you step-by-step how to
produce the graphs you want. The Reference
Manual classifies and describes fully every available
command.

The Better MouseTrap Company
sales Report September, 1984

50000
1984 (actual)

4983 (actual)
—— 1964 (projected)

MAR MAY JUL SEP

Monthly MouseTrap Sales

45000

40000

35000

30000 F

NOV

Features of Graflalk

Flexible Data Input

GrafTalk will extract data from any text file, including
Printer files from most spreadsheet programs. Blank lines
and headings are ignored. Unwanted data can be easily
masked off. Commas, dollars signs etc do not affect the
interpretation of data values.

Mini Spread Sheet

The inbuilt spreadsheet allows the user to view and
adjust data, perform arithmetic operations, create
new rows and columns, name rows and
columns,create sub-sets, and output data to disk or
printer. Unassigned values are allowed.

Menu Mode

High-speed screen oriented menus are provided. Write
your own menus for your standard operations. Switch
between menu mode and command mode at any time.

et-cell Graft

Q
>
QU
al
Q
UI
oO
U
,
Lo
UO
O
O
mam

SUITABLE FOR BOTH SCIENTIFIC AND BUSINESS APPLICATIONS.

Axis Features

Adjust the number and position of axes. Select
numeric labels, or text or special labels such as
months, days or years. You can use automatic

scaling, or nominate the range for each axis.

Interactive Graphics
Use the joystick, mouse, or light pen to select a region on
the screen, and position legends and text.

Advanced Features

Declare variables, interactive sketch commands, circle and
arc, absolute and relative moves, draws and marks, screen
or graph coordinate systems.

GrafTalk is distributed in Australia by:

SPECIALITY HANDSET SALES

FLIP-PHONE 40%

| ke

DISITEL MONITOR 27%

TOUCH A MATIC 20% _]

ADD LOGOS WITH MOVE, DRAW AND ARC COMMANDS.

Editor

The powerful screen-oriented text editor within GrafTalk is a very
valuable tool for developing graphics. It can be used to create files
containing commands, data or both. The editor has commands to
allow you to run all or part of a file. If errors are found during
execution, GrafTalk returns to the editor, with the cursor pointing to

the offending line.

Major Sources of Government Hevenue
$ million

40000

30000
20000

10000

83-84 84-B5

= Sales Tax

82-B3

i Company Tax

61-82

(eal PAYE Tax

alae le W Al) (ex Sales Tax) °

eRe a ee

95 Canterbury Rd, Middle Park, Victoria 3206.
Telephone: (03) 699 9899. Telex: AA 31604.

. for i te of, oa ag " it 7
i F Pa : : J a 1. a : : ie & F ta F
"i oy

a

This is the worst noticeboard | have ever
called! | demand my money back or Vil
sue you for $10 million, and | mean what |
say. | prefer the money in unmarked 91
bills left in a briefcase outside Town Hall.
Be there.”

“Excellent BBS. Had trouble with the
others but this was ereat. The only one
that worked properly. Keep up the good
work.”

WHEN FIRST handed the job of looking
after the Your Computer bulletin poard after
the departure of our previous sysop, |
thought id quickly have a new b
through the whole system and change the
shape of life on out BBS. Now. three
months later, 'm still scratching the sul-
face. It's not through lack of enthusiasm —

ambition has been just a teensy bit dulled
_ but rather through an avalanche ©
usually conflicting requests and com-
ments from users of the system.

In an attempt to respond to some of the
pleas, criticisms, congratulations and
queries. and to give BBS usels 4 taste O
life on the other end of the line. | thought
i'd share some of my electronic mail.

BULLETI

i iy i Ps

fi i ‘ * ; % 4 \

. The
i" * : a} hh
= y =e, :
a»
ot 4" 1

B ; . ! 4 " ; 4 ‘ | <% L | . |
Thiserother BAR
Is bein E cy

impressions LtStB

round the
ne a a using s -
ae your aaa the oni else’s ID
na Sequences ae OF yo Person who
thoes one Pi trouble cau. ll bear th
OSE Who've “ce Of mail Seda can

CO } :
mputer fraud ed! might interest

{ust checkin

look Foe your Sys-

d, we'll cal]

Q

|

Changes ;
"Come on, Austpac! ... Are you still having

problems after three years? ... Where has
the hard disk gone? ... Isn't this system
kinda slow? ... Is that advertisement from
ary 1984 still current?”
afines do change on the bulletin board,
but not at what you might call a frenetic
pace. In the last few months we've man-
aged to clean up a lot of the dead wood
that’s been cluttering up the system, and
software maintenance is happening often
enough for regular users to notice it. _
After the system closed down for a while
last year when we moved house, we lost

The Board
‘T've been wande

ages, and | stil] Can't find the

our hard disk to one of the other computer where are they? .. Your mailbo ae
systems in the building, and the pol- very difficult to understand Tee
tergeists have foiled us each time we've Comprehensive and complex bo d ah
been about to put it up again. At the mo- excellent Structures .. ard, with

ment, we're first in line to get the Fujitsu
drive which is in sick bay at Facom. If they
get their act into gear, it should be up by
the time you read this. That'll mean a faster
system with lots more elbow room.
We're also planning to implement some
much needed software improvements
when we get the Fujitsu up and running
again. These include providing visitors
with directories and descriptions of the
programs available on the system
(perhaps the most requested enhance-
ment to the system), more programs fora
wider variety of machines, including lan-
guages such as dBase and C; and multi-
user access. Future Paes eae eee
Austpac, which should make I .
ets a Httle more bearable. | stored on drive B. a UTES are currently

dumbo like me could y
| is board is entered f
INg ‘board’ !

the ID? on a

Se this system!”

A better way to dow

CO use a commMmunicati
3 Nications utjlit j
ee adecally checks for errors in nad
ee, ee aa See (a version of Yet
WNICh sends data; -
byte blocks, fo} lowed bya checksum to ce.

whether the data arrived
rived in
block is sent again) BCH {it not, the

To run XYAM.

nload a program is

S® BULLETIN BOARD BACKCHAT

MN around in Circles for

vena COmputer

‘¢

Tools for the Professional

Setanta ee eee ee

i ee ei

Basic Coo. $309

C source functions which
simulate BASIC

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Lattice db-C........ $338

ISAM library with DBASE II or III
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Track dependencies. Builds batch
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Source level C debugger
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Symbolic version

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FREE C CATALOGUE
SS a a er
Available exclusively in Australia from:

FAGAN

MICROPROCESSOR SYSTEMS
95 Canterbury Road, Middle Park, Vic. 3206
Tel: (03) 699 9899 Telex: AA31604

29

oN,

Ue

BUL
LETIN BOARD BACKCHAT

>

: a asics as
the di IS the Mi
iff. i-C
Ow d erence be OMputer Cc}
Wour Goa, Ronee oe eae ? What’
y omputer's | beards
tiMBoaiaae: eg board j pit
Which 'd. The Mi Comput rd is offici
prod offered ens "252 er Club B ae
The ae and a ecial rat consumer Hs
the cup” Rodina as well computer
club. theo veil ag er
S.

PSurviving part of
oO

-

4
The sysop’s Ear ie
"its 2am and the sySoP ig nowhere to be
found. We were noping to find a sysOP

nd a © okbo prog provide
preakfast, an we've fou d neither. What oO
sort of a clack syst© E |

As with ™m st SySO bulletin poard

is my secon first 1S king full
rime for Your Computer, W js rather more
than a 9 tO 5 bulletin boat . :
maintenanc gets do ever }m pas- a IX
sing the C° u O ave a mo ey ‘
ment to spat ything More manding ?
rends to & done eithe jate at ight or ON

ou want t t attention, there are
| ea boat mem
ber you leave ME il vi pMAI
addressed member embels
and visitor an leave CO after the
BYE or EF comma ds when exiting
rhe syste \ generally \ this mal Vey
once a WE and get 4 replying
every two to three W ks unle ¢ | notice
something urgen |
alternatively, can U CHAT
Cc mmand } HAT ca a bell to
sound 4 few tim ro attract attention
ynfortunatel bulletin 5° ompu
ter is located d the of the ‘
corridor {ro ) wor you have to is s,
be lucky tO that Way f aroun '
always “Y t swet, d you re likely to

trying tO get chings t0 work.

perhaps the most successtul way to get
attentio is (02) 663 9999
juring office ours, ricwhich makes it
qifficult for Me t d you. If any case
the questio answet last are those whic
have already een ans ont e board.
Most of the informe eeded to get
ground the system in th yarious
blurbs oF help files av e chroughou
che syste erhe system > ests you TYP
‘HELP’ and ype ‘TY BOARD.

d then lea comment about the un
friendly nat Fthe boal ou'li be right!

Mostly bem {the com ynication on
the poard ding people 7
bother tO \ criticls ¢ the system
Despite our time and e problems
we are KE en make t rd ponsive
to your nee 5 50 give U \ if you wan
ro see cn ge, din meantime

eM

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a
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NEw"

NEW 180 CPS PRINTER!

KAITEC KAI 180 EX
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SPECIFICATIONS:
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Print Types: ASC{i 96 Others 7
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Character Format: Character
Mode Standard 9 x 9 dots
NLO 18 x 20 dots Graphic Moda
Printar Modes: (a) Fixed pitch mode
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Paper Feed Method: (a) Adjustable
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interface: Parallei interface 8-bit
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DISK STORAGE BOX
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IBM* (te suit) Cat, x11096 $239
Apple’ (to suit) Cat. X11095 $139

KEYBOARD AND CASE
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Cat, 19101 $190

APPLE* COMPATIBLE
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Printer Cerd Cat. X17029 $95
Drive Card Cat. X17019 $95
a0 Column Card Cat. X17025 $95
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Disk Controller Card $149

Hard Disk Conteollar Cart $399
Harculas Graphics Card $249
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@ Voltage drop on full load 1.5 volts

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Cat. X10094

$39.95

NEW! 64K PRINTER

BUFFER KIT!
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free up yout computer when YOU
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Cat. K96700 $149
i iFiriatigs eta
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2764 $ 825 $ 7.95 $ 6.00
27128 $12.50 $11.50 $750
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PRINTER RIBBONS

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———

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mi ——
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Give your kit computer a fotally
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e @ =

ae =
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Sudden mains distrubances can
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Maximum total load.
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@ Erasa up to 9 chips at a time

®@ Chip drawer has conducive foam
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® Mains powered

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ensures EPROMs are thoroughly
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® Waight 670 grams

Cat. $89.50

§1/a" FLOPPY DISK
SPECIALS!

XIDEX 1-9 10°
S/S DD $31.00 $29.00
Cal 012401

D/SD/D $38.00 $36.50
Cai C12410

VERBATIM DATALIFE
SDDID $27.95 $26.95

Cai. C12504
DIDD/D $39.95 $37.95
Cat. C 12504

VERBATIM VALULIFE
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Same eM D agg Verse ie RI ae Ve a IARC gr hare Oe ace”

ROD IRVING ELECTRONICS
425 High Street, NORTHCOTE, 3070
VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA

Phane (03) 489 8666

44 A'Geckatt St, MELBOURNE, 3000
VICTORIA. AUSTRALIA

Ph. (03) 663 6151

Mall Order and carrespandance:
P.O. Box 620, CLAYTON 3168
TELEX: AA 151938

MAIL ORDER HOTLUNE
{03) 543 7877
JInes)

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Registered Paai for orders over
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Errors and Omiselione Excepted.

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NASA MONO/DPS

190 with dBASE IIL

NASA has only one shot
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(BASE Ill The data management standard

j

ASHTON ‘TATE

T WwW A R
distributed by

AUSTRALIAS LEADING aay ae pS

BRISBANE MELBOURNE }2 SYDNEY Ao! STON (NZ)

TAKE YOUR PERSONAL
COMPUTER OUT INTO
THE BIG WIDE WORLD.

WITH TELECOM VIATEL.

ntil now, your personal computer was

generally limited to your information input.
Or to the software available. Now Telecom
Viatel opens up a whole new world for
PC owners.

Utilizing the existing telephone network,
Viatel distributes a wide range of information
and services via a central computer. Direct to
your home or office.

So you can bank from home. send
messages to other Viatel users. Access
Telecom’s national Telex network. Get updates
onnews, sport and weather. Follow economic
indicators. Make bookings. Check airline
schedules. Order goods. Play games. And
much more. Even download new computer
programs onto disk or cassette for your own
use”.

Your personal computer can be adapted to
emulate a Viatel terminal. All you need are a
Telecom approved 1200/75 baud modem and
the appropriate software. These are now
readily available for most PC's.

Your dealer will know what is best for your
particular PC. Talk to him first about your
needs.

Then contact your local Telecom Business
Office—listed in your Telephone Directory— to
arrange connection to Telecom Viatel.

"Subject to your software configuration.

Telecom

| ®
— La j EL Telecom Australia

AUSTRALIA'S NATIONAL VIDEOTEX SERVICE Better for Business

! HOT

Our revered leade

, a =. © -

i:

r, Matt

helan, asked ou

i

r intrept

editor Natalie Filatoff to investigate the
communications scene from a newcomer's point of
view, as it’s a pretty intimidating field to get going

iM. Nat found it something of a

battlefield, with plenty of setbacks and routs, but
always with that tantalising carrot of victory dangling
somewhere just beyond the reach of her questing nose ...

ae eee ee eee eee a ee eee eee se ee eee eee ee ee ee eee ee see neee eee ee ee ee eH

oncomm Nat, that’s me, or so |
thought after having spent my
first few hours reconnoitring

) the data communications jung-
le. “Impenetrable”, ] was ready to report to
my CO. Pockets of resistance? Ha! Their
defences were impregnable ... Well, maybe
there were a few chinks in the armour, but
what could one tiny combatant like me do
against such monstrous adversaries? Their
mastery of psychological warfare was un-
paralleled: every time | advanced a few
paces, their piercing war cry would shrill
through the modem, everything would
black out for a moment and I'd open my
eyes to find the screenery had changed
completely.

Disoriented (lost), I'd advance (how did |
know I was advancing?) determinedly, but
all the time they were shooting beams of
invisible propaganda into my poor
numbed brain: “You're spending too much
money,” they hissed, "Time is money.” I'd
begin thrashing about wildly and would
inevitably find myself running in circles, or
at a seeming dead end. Succumbing to afit
of jungle fever, I'd start to hallucinate ... if
only I could stop them charging ... Tele-
com, charging, charging, charging ... Grop-
ing blindly, I'd push the RESET button.

It was pitiful. Every time the enemy
would dump me unceremoniously back
into MS-DOS, a kind of no-man’s land as
far as | could see. Where was my beloved
CP/M? I was ready to go AWOL, surrender
to the IBM Underground until I could be
reunited with Bee; | was going to hurl my
ammunition into the tangled undergrowth
of phone wires and flee, but on reflection |
wasn't even sure I'd started out with the

right ammunition. The fact was, and I had
to face it, that I'd been unarmed all the
time. That's right, | hadn't opened a manu-
al, I'd been using my bare hands, relying on
intuition ... and not doing too badly, if I say
so myself.

Data communications isn’t quite such a
hostile environment as my frenzied state
had me believe at times, but the majority
of people seem to encounter a whole pla-
toon of frustrating situations when making
their first forays into the field. In many
cases, these frustrations can be related to
a user not being familiar with the equip-
ment he or she is using, or with the princi-
ples behind that equipment .

Fitting Together the Pieces

| was the prime example. I wrote this story
from home, where | usually have a Mic-
robee set up with a Beemodem and Tel-
com communications software, with which
| have successfully sent several stories to
the office over the phone lines. I didn’t
exactly understand how it all worked, but
was gradually piecing the datacomms pic-
ture together. I was really looking forward
to writing this article when the CO said he
needed to borrow the Bee, couldn't | take
the Olivetti home instead? | was gleeful;
I've always admired the M24 from afar, but
had never even had the time to run my
fingers over its stylish keyboard.

So there | was, with an unfamiliar
machine, running MS-DOS instead of CP/
M, using PC-Talk instead of Telcom, and
wondering how I, the noncomm, was going
to attach a telephone receiver to Data Net-
comm’s PC In/Modem so it could function
as a real modem was supposed to. I'd hada

five-minute briefing from Whelan (the CO
in question), who might well find himself
in a court-martial situation when he gets
back from holidays, and was busting to
dive right in and attack Viatel, for starters;
to get in under all those umbrellas and
things I'd been hearing about, and find out
just what the IPs (information providers)
were up to.

Beginners to computing should beware
of seriously damaging their morale by pa-
rachuting into the telephone wires without
at least acquainting themselves with the
contents of their survival pack and the
whereabouts of the ripcord. That’s what
Rose Vines told me after I'd been at it fora
couple of evenings, but she put it in terms
of having a reasonable knowledge of the
operating system you're using, and know-
ing the different methods of summoning
help when soldiering along in remote cor-
ners of datacomms territory; firing flares
won't improve your position, nor endear
you to the people who live upstairs —
typing a question mark or simply ‘help’ is
probably the preferred course of action.

The thing is, people like Rose aren't
generally around when you find you've
marched yourself right into a swamp, and
that’s the ironic twist to the datacomms
attraction: data communications brings all
sorts of facilities you'd normally have to go
out or telephone for (most often in busi-
ness hours) within easy reach of you and
your home or office computer, at all times
of day. You can carry out tasks by yourself,
when you feel like it, and communicate
with other people without actually having
to ‘bother’ them right there and then... but,
of course, the very independence and>

35

Only ONE computer system
in Australia can do all this.

PED naires eee Beli ce eae
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accessibility of the thing means you'll fre-
quently find yourself alone at the most
hair-tearing, can’t-get-any-further, don't-
remember-how-to-go-back moments.
There you'll be, standing outside the
biggest library you've ever imagined, on
some remote database like the Source,
without any idea how the swinging doors
work; there's no sign of a librarian, you
desperately need to research some
obscure subject, and it's costing you a for-
tune in phone charges just to hop up and
down frustratedly on the pavement. Or you
want to juggle the money in your three
bank accounts, so the right amount will be
in the right place when your mortgage pay-
ment is automatically deducted on Mon-
day — you can do it while breakfasting on
Sunday, with your croissant in one hand
and the Weekend Australian keeping your
knees warm while you access Telebank
through Viatel, but there won't be a teller
to help you with the transfer. Or, it’s 1 am
and you need to get an electronic letter to
someone so it'll be on their screen when
they come to work in the morning — you
won't find a postmaster to help you with
the postcode, or to tell you whether you
should use priority paid (1200 baud) or
ordinary delivery (300 baud) in order to get
it to the right mailbox safely and on time.

Remember the Novices ...

Of course, when data communications ma-
tures a little more, you probably won't
have to keep looking around for a helping
hand (and it probably won't be as much of
an adventure as now). One aspect of the
field, which becomes very clear after you’ve
moseyed around some, is that the people
providing the facilities, especially in Au-
stralia, are not yet catering for the fact that
their services are being accessed by inde-
pendent and often inexperienced users.

Figure |.The Mi-Compuler Club Bulletin Board's opening screen.

(Note: the prompting bell has been disabled).

What is your FIRST name ?ratlee
What is your LAST name ?battletop
Checking user file...

Logging RATLEE BATTLETOP to disk...

You are caller # +: 2223

Type HELP at the CP/M "OA>" prompt for assistance, or

to enter the bulletin board subsystem.

GOSH!

| enjoyed using Teledata:
the screens and command
card gave me all the help
| needed, and knowing
what my manoeuvres were
going to cost and that the
charges weren't exorbitant
was very soothing.

They aren't yet shooting out, to your re-
mote, island-like screen, all the informa-
tion you need in order to achieve your

objectives smoothly. There is a special art

to presenting information on computer,
and you'll know when you're in the hands
of someone with skill.

| discovered one great talent during the
course of my infiltration of remote compu-
ter facilities: the author of PC-Talk, who
created what | think is a brilliant piece of
public domainery. PC-Talk is written for
the IBM PC and compatibles, and enables
you to do some really sensible things, like
save to disk the screens you're viewing so
you can look at them more closely later —
when it’s not costing you a fortune jn
phone bills. | never once wished for docu-
mentation of this program; after I'd been
told how to summon it at the MS-DOS
prompt, our relationship was clear and we
were inseparable.

Altered Objectives

Now, the original objective of this article
was to gather as much intelligence as |

Figure2.

get help on the Mi Computer Club

get help on joining the bulletin board
get help on the message subsystem

on the communications software

get help

could on various outposts of data com-
munications, and report to you and the CO
(grr) on what it was like to access them and
what they had to offer. As you're probably
aware by now, I encountered a few obsta-
cles along the way. You'll hear about the
obstacles in a minute, but I'll say right now
that as soon as I found a service | could get
into, | stuck with it, partly because | was so
glad to find something easily accessible,
and partly, as you'll discover when foraging
yourself, because it’s virtually impossible
to do a quick exploration of a sizeable
facility — once you get the hang of it you
want to poke into every nook and cranny.

Having conferred with the CO on my
field handset, we decided there was room
for more regular articles on what's going
on in communications facilities both here
and overseas — so look out for them in
future issues, and I'll stick to general com-
ments here.

First, the disappointments. As | men-
tioned above, | was really keen to have a
look around Viatel. About two months be-
fore | wrote this article my spouse (orga-
niser of all things) applied to Viatel for a
subscription. At the time of writing we'd
had no response, so | asked a friend if |
could use his number and password. Un-
fortunately, the friend lives interstate, so
while borrowing his electronic dog tags
was no problem, | couldn't get hold of any
documentation in a hurry.

Viatel is not a good proposition unless
you have that documentation, Although |
got in all right, | quickly pushed myself into
corners, or found myself running around in
circles and paying for the same screens
again and again (some areas of Viatel
charge you, screen by screen, to view their
information). Since | was logged in under
someone else's name, I wasn’t keen to run

up unnecessary charges, and because >

MicC BB QUICK COMMAND SUMMARY

HELP CLUB
HELP JOIN
HELP BOARD
HELP MODEM

see what's on a disk

leave the system

> see if the SYSOP is around
read or leave messages
enter the communications program

BOARD

_read the programs (from within XYAM)

See HELP THIS-SYS for more detailed information ++

If you experience any problems, feel free to leave comments,
criticisms and suggestions via PMAIL to member number 1.

Want latest system information before entering CP/M ? yes

+ End of Category +

Type CTRL-C=CP/M, <CR>=Next Category -

37

there was no obvious and polite way to get
out of some areas, I'd end up pushing the
Olivetti's RESET button — a course of ac-
tion which makes me feel like a real
dummy.

So I'll refrain from commenting on Viatel
until the means for understanding its pro-
tocols are provided (hint, hint). Since
you're unlikely to try to access the facility
in a similarly unprepared fashion, you
shouldn't let my experiences turn you Off.

Now for some Good News
They turned me off. Disheartened, |
thought I'd try some familiar ground and
see what Your Computer's Mi-Computer Bul-
letin Board could offer. My first, second,
third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh (get the
picture?) mistake was to try ringing it after
hours — the line is almost always busy
(the CO and sysop hope to do something
about maybe getting multiple lines soon).
When | finally did worm my way in be-
tween other callers, | found procedures
very simple. “How many nulls do you
need?” asked the system. | knew, because
the CO had told me once in the deep dark
past, that my answer to this should bea
zero. Could my computer display lower
case? was the next question — of course,
the Olivetti can do anything (sorry, Bee).
What was my first name? Last name? The
system checked to see if it had a dossier on
me (luckily | had used an undercover
identity}, Zappo, we were into a friendly
and immediately instructive opening
screen (see Figure |}. | chose to lookat the
latest system info before entering CP/M
and found a cheery message from the CO
(boy, was | glad to see him): typing ‘help’
would get me help, Rose Vines is the
sysop. she'd been doing a lot of cleaning
up, the hard disk was going to be up again
soon, and so on.

Figure 3.The Entertainment
Connection menu.

EI3 Info Menu EI32
EI33 Industry News EI35
EI36 Directory EI4

MAIN Teledata Menu HELP

System News
Magazine

Bboards
Help Menu

Last Paragraph: 3
SEL(File) : MAIN

| humbly typed ‘help’ and got a menu of
things | could ask for help with (see Figure
2). HELP CLUB was first, which told methe
Mi-Computer Club was defunct, and that
the bulletin board was the only remaining
part of it. | knew that already, so | typed
HELP JOIN and got the details you would

38

GOSH!

Figure 4.Teledata’s main menu.

-=< THE TELEDATA NETWORK >=-
. What's New ? (09-Aug-85)
. International GateWay Services
. Personal Computing & Leisure
. Entertainment & News Services
, Telex & Communication Services
» The Shopping Complex
. Subscriber Comments & Feedback
. Membership Information Guide
. Network Information Guide
» Signing Off

PWS nn Wh

. Subscriber Rates & Fees
. Accounting Information

. Your Account Balance & Details
. Changing Your Username
. Changing Your Password
. Membership Regulations

)

1-JUL~85

have read in Rose's ‘Bulletin Board Back-
chat’ article.

Next was BOARD, and being an unfinan-
cial member — that is, a visitor — | picked
the ‘Visitors’ section. This informed me
that, unfortunately, | couldn’t access the
pocket programs, and | subsequently sus-

Figure 6.
SUBSCRIBER RATES & FEES

= a a ao ao Se So oS oo a

When you logoff from the system, you
will be informed of the charges
incurred during that session, broken
down into various categories.

(i) Weekdays: 0000 ~ 0800 § 5.00/hour
0800 = 1800 §13.00/hour
1800 ~ 2400 $ 8.00/hour

(ii) Weekends/National Public Holidays

0000 = 1800
1800 ~ 2400

$ 5.00/hour
§ 8.00/hour

Note ; National Public Holidays denotes
a Public Holiday in ALL states!

A connection fee of 33 cents (the price
of a stamp!) is charged each time a
member logs on. The member is also
charged a minimum time charge of 40
cents each time the member uses the
system. This means that if you use LESS
than 40 cents of time on the system you
will be charged a minimum of 40 cents.
However, if you used 50 cents worth of
time, you would ONLY be charged 50
cents.

DISK STORAGE CHARGES

Each member is charged a quarter of a
cent (06.0025) per kilobyte per day, for
items stored in their private DIRECTORY
or storage area.

People who were members of the system

pected | wouldn't be able to use the mail
facilities, either. I tried the ‘Personal Mes-
sages’ option and, sure enough, mail was
only for people with money upfront. This
screen also told me to beware of leaving
anything truly confidential on the bulletin
board, since although the system is fairly
secure, an “inventive system-breaker”,
might be able to get in.

Just one more from the BOARD menu: it
had to be the intriguingly sinister option,
‘Killing Messages’, which proffered the fol-
lowing: “Ideally, the sysop should never
have to delete your messages. You should
be doing so yourself on a regular basis,
once you think they've been up for long
enough to serve their purpose .. often we
only look at recent messages when we log
on and forget the historical gems we en-
tered weeks or months before.”

1 knew Rose wasn’t there, but | typed
CHAT (to talk to the system operator) out
of curiosity. The system politely informed
me that it would see if someone was avail-
able, and would return to me in 30 seconds
if they weren't. It beeped and dotted me
through those 30 seconds, to let me know
it was trying all the time, and then apolo-
gised for the lack of response.

Only having ‘visitor’ status was terribly

prior to 30th June, 1985 and
Home/Student members are charged an
Account Maintenance fee of §2.00 per
month to cover the costs of maintaining
their data on the system.

Commercial members are charged a fee of
$5.00 per month but are not charged a
surcharge for access to purely
commercial applications on the system.

EXTERNAL CHARGES

These are the charges imposed by
Telecom and 0.T.C. for the use of their
facilities plusa small T.A.B handling
charge for Telexes, and are payable in
ADDITION to Teledata hourly rates.

Austpac Charges (Telecom):
og00 - 1800 §$5.95/hour
1860 = 0806 $4.95/hour
All Weekends $4,95/hour

Telex Charges:

National (Telecom)

0800 - 1800 $0.45 per minute
1800 = 0800 $0.25 per minute

International (0.T.C.)
$2.00 per minute

The Telex network transmits characters
at a rate of approximately 5 characters
per second.
Paragraph: 18 0% left.
SEL(File) /c:

Figure 7.

BREAKDOWN OF ACCOUNT

Pm er ee SS Se
CURRENT MONTH

TOTAL

MAXIMUM ALLOWED ON SYSTEM

ao ee el ee ee ee ee ee ee ee

500.00
S 500.00
500,00

TOTAL TIME USE : §

SINGLE PURCHASE :
TOTAL PURCHASES +: $

annoying — | couldn't really de anything. |
now understand all those extremely impa-
tient-sounding people who ring our office
wanting to become members of the board

right away. What's $20 when you can find

out what lies behind all those menus?

Aside from this one frustration, our bul-
letin board seems very easy to use. | never
felt out of control, because the screen in
front of me always suggested what | might
do next, and I'd been informed from the
start how to get help if | needed it. (If Viatel
had employed similar methods | wouldn't
have required a manual.)

Logging off, 1 was given the chance to
leave a comment. Overjoyed, | typed a
long, friendly message to Rose.

The most pleasurable thing about data
communications really is communicating.
At Your Computer we've always been able to
send mail electronically between termin-
als. Each time you log on the system tells
you whether you have ‘mail’. It’s most use-
ful when someone is out and you want to
leave them a message, or when someone
looks depressed and you want to cheer
them up, or when someone has a birthday,

or .. it's just most useful. The CO often

works on the company’s systems late at
night and tends to write us swags of mail
while he's waiting for disks to format and
the like —the mail program tells you when
each message was written, so we can
generally tell from how late the message
was sent when to expect our leader to front
up the next day, and how sympathetic we
should be. Obviously, electronic mail has

Figure 8.
Time Charges:

EVENING:
LOGON:

28 Minutes $
Connection Fee $

TOTAL:
AUSTPAC CHARGE:
Press RETURN to logoff ...:

28 Minutes $

GOSH!

many other useful applications, both with-
in and between computer systems.

Most communications facilities support
messaging, either to users of the facility in
general {advertisement sections, notice-
boards, and so on), or to specific users
(member to member or member to sysop).
Cathy. Gray, editor of Sonics, one of our
sister publications, subscribes to Teledata,
a communications facility which, among
other things, offers an area devoted entire-
ly to the entertainment industry.

Figure 9.
tee aoe eae “ke AND LEISURE

os se eee ee ee oo a
i spautinl Dee ee oat Bulletin Boards
» Group and Ciub Announcements

. Private/Restricted Menus

. The Amusement Arcade

. Teledata Green Pages

. CompuNews Online Magazine

. Topic Of The Month

. Dear Aunty Frank Personal Column
. CompuMart - Computer Flea Market
. Trading Post - General Items

. Fun & Games Joke Column

. Community Services

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Yay, Teledata!

Teledata was the first unfamiliar system |
had no trouble accessing and finding my
way around in. The CO had supplied me
with a command card, without which |
wouldn't have been able to move about
with as much confidence as | did.

Teledata is accessed through Austpac,
Telecom's packet-switching network. So |
dialled the Austpac number from within
PC-Talk, which put the call through the
modem. After the carrier signal had shril-
led, 1 was required to type in the Teledata
‘address’ number, and could then sign on
and give Cathy's password ... several times,
because | couldn't remember the right
combination of letters and spaces — lucky
Teledata allows for that.

Since | was using Cathy's password, the
system logged me straight into the ‘Enter-
tainment Connection’ area (see Figure 3),
but ] immediately had the option of trans-
ferring to Teledata’s main menu. From the
main menu (Figure 4), | chose to view the
Membership Information Guide (Figure
5a), and then, still jittery about how much
money Telecom was making out of all this,
| thought I'd better have a look at subscri-
ber Rates and Fees. You can see how
reasonable the charges are in Figure 6. |
thought it particularly civilised that the bill
includes Austpac charges, and that it is
broken down into its various components.

Figure !0.

=a< TOPIC OF THE MONTH ?=-

— Se Se Se Be RSH

. dan '85 - Life After Death ?
» Apr '85 - Queensland Politics

. May '85 - Animal Research

- June '85 - World Government Y/N?
. July '85 - Terrorism

. Aug '85 - Unionism

)

| had a look at Cathy's ‘Account Balance
and Details’ (Figure 7): over $450 to go
before | busted her credit limit — 1 was
getting bolder.

| considered changing her password
(option 5 in Figure 5), so only! could get in
in future. She'd have to beg me, pay mea
king’s ransom in coffee beans (Your Compu-
ter currency) before I'd tell her the new one

While | was plotting deviously, Teledata
logged me out because | hadn't hit a key for
over five minutes. It politely informed me
(Figure 8) of the bill I'd run up — $4.06 for
28 minutes and invited me to press
return in order to complete my retreat. |
did.

Logging in again the next day | thought
i'd go for somerelaxation,so | chose ‘Per-
sonal Computing and Leisure’ from the
main menu (see Figure 9), and sauntered
into the Amusement Arcade. A game of
Tic-Tac-Toe sounded like something |
could cope with, but | couldn't get the
instructions to stop scrolling past me for
long enough to read them. Lost that game,
obviously.

Going to the Teledata Green Pages, | had
the same problem with information on
Andy's Plumbing Service. Whoosh — that
was one swift plumber.

Figure I].

Shoot the do-gooders

Page Created: 00:08 08/07/85
Notice we don't hear of terrorism in
Russia? Why not let us get tough too!
That's all these people understand! If
we're not going to carry out our
threats of reprisais we shouldn't make
them. Extend the same treatment to our
own local trade union terrorists; we
pay taxes so police & military can
protect us, then remove their powers to
deal with iaw-breakers because we
listen to the do-gooders. If the
bible-bashers believe their ravings,
we'll actually be doing them a service
by helping them into the next world!

Ambling through the Computer Flea
Market, | couldn’t find anything that would
pass as a welcome home present for my

Bee. It was good to see people had taken >

39

different approaches to advertising their
wares; one user tried the tantalising tactic
of making usefs scroll through a couple of
blank screens between the description of
what he wanted to sell and the price.

What was the Topic of the Month (Figure
10)? They hadn’t got to September yet (it
was still the beginning of the month when |
was doing this research), sol chose to look
at July's topic which was ‘Terrorism’. The
sub-menu was fascinating. Feeling per-
verse, |] thought I'd look at ‘Shoot the Do-
Gooders’ (see Figure | 1) — wow. ‘Be Gen-
tle, But Be Forceful’, seemed like it might
express a more sit-on-the-fence attitude: it
did. This forum-type arrangement (at least
that's what | assumed | was looking at, in
the absence of any explanation) was intri-
guing. How could! find out the September
topic and maybe get rid of some frustra-
tions myself? | never found out.

What about the Dear Aunty Frank Per-
sonal Column (see Figure 12)? It was too
good to miss. ‘Marooned’ was what |
wanted to be; perhaps someone had writ-
teh in to say they were sick of their solitary
island paradise, would someone in the
Teledata audience like to take over? No
such luck. | thought ‘Why Dori‘t | Get Any-
where’ might expose sorheone's sordid
problem, but it was something to do with
their-car being sluggish off the lights in wet
weather. | was beginning to think Aunty
Frank wrote most of her letters herself.

By this time, | had spent many minutes
on Teledata, and seeing on my command
card that typing STATEMENT would give
me an account balance, | thought I'd check
out the damage. But it only offered me the
bill as it stood at the end of yesterday's
communication. Oh well, there was lots
more to see. At this stage | felt I was ready
to digest some more sensible data and
selected the ‘Network Information Guide’
and a dose of ‘The History of Teledata’.

“The Teledata Network,” said the screen,
“was originally incorporated in October
1981, and whilst trading as ‘The Australian
Beginning’, first made facilities available
to members in March 1982 . In April 1985,
ownership of the company changed | On
July Ist, 1985, after a period of negotiation
and redevelopment, the service was re-
launched as Teledata ... It is currently the
only network in Australia offering services
similar to those of its counterparts in the
United States — Compuserve, the Source
and Delphi.”

A Who's Who of Teledata gave me “a
listing designed to allow users to contact

40

GOSH!

Figure 12.

Dear Aunty Frank
. General Information
What will I do?
Beauty Advice Please!
Nail Biting.
Travel Without Money?
Too Many Women is my Problem!
MAROCONED!
BABEL FISH!
LOST TOWEL!
Strange Little Box
CATS WANTED!
Where Have My Goldfish Gone??!!
QUCH!
Why Don't I Get Anywhere?
Please?
GARDEN ORNAMENT!
I HAVE A HANGNAIL PROBLEM!
LISP
WHAT HAS THE DONKEY GOT?
BEDHEAD WANTED

Was A Ue wh Re

BOOP PDPOA OAD DSM t DDO. Dw

Figure 13
=< The seo Pea ge: >=

“ Sour Rights and Peenensinnied
» How to Shop on Teledata
- The Teledata Shop (Closed)
- The Book and Magazine Centre
. The Computer Centre
. The Software House
- The Modem House
. The Electronic Editing Service
. The Electronic Art Gallery
60. Wendy's Gift Fruit Baskets Store

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Ll

Figure 14.
NEWS és INFORMATION - ae )
% ic miancevon ~ News & Info
. System News
. Industry News
. New Products & Services
- Online Magazine

. Directory

Figure 15.

. Introduction

. Audio & Sound Reinforcement
. Recording & Broadcasting
. Video, TV and Film

. Performing

. Lighting

. Employment

. Trading Post

. Midi

- AES

. IREE

. Jokes

“wo Os] oh OF & WN EY

other users on the system who may be able
to offer help in some area, until we (Tele-
data) establish an on-line ‘Users Direc-
tory’.”

The ‘Gateway Services’ option told of
interesting things to come: “Teledata is at
present developing a number of Gateway
links to various on-line information data-
bases, electronic mail services and compu-
ter networks throughout Australia and the
world.” This will apparently enable Tele-

data subscribers to do virtually all their
communications dialling through the one
service, and maybe be billed for everything
through Teledata’s neatly organised
system.

Shopkeepers can see her
coming...

Then my gaze landed on the ‘Shopping’
(see Figure 13) option again, and this time
| couldn't resist. ] read the guff about rights
and responsibilities and grew impatient
over the how-tos, but finally | was there.
Book browsing seemed a good idea, but
the Holt-Saunders Bookshop had nothing
to improve the mind of my Bee.

The Software House was sure to have
just the thing, so | entered boldly. Hmm,
Acme wasa well-known brand — | asked to
peruse its range. Home Budget sounded
like the sort of thing] should be interested
in, but unfortunately, the salesperson re-
fused to give me any details of which com-
puters it would run on (what was | saying
about inadequate information?).

Despairing, | turned to food; | was hop-
ing to find something unhealthy in Wen-
dy's Gift Fruit Baskets. Sure enough, |
could get chocolate eggs at Easter, stuffed
toys too, and most other things that would
fit in a basket. But, curses, Wendy only
delivers in the Melboutne metropolitan
area .. the CO was going to be in Mel-
bourne for two days ... why not send hima
surprise? Wendy's last information frame
let me down — | had to tell Teledata |
wanted to place an order, they'd Jet Wendy
know, and she'd contact me. Well, they
didn't say how long all this was likely to
take, so | decided not to take the risk ..

I'm a determined shopper, so | tried the
‘Electronic Art Gallery’, which turned out
to have a selection of graphically repre-
sented greetings. | purchased a Happy
Birthday (gift box and tag) for 99 cents, and
it was transferred (a word Teledata can't
spell) to Cathy's directory. —

I'd spent about two and a half hours in
Teledata and clocked up $19 towards
Cathy's bill.

Keeping Up with the News
The third time | logged into Teledata, |
noticed there was a lot of news for people
logging on to read; it talked about what
was new on Teledata, who'd won last
week's competition, and so on. The only
problem was that | couldn't get this news
to stop scrolling past.

| decided to hang around in the Enter-

tainment Connection for a while and let
my fingers do the walking through some
‘News and Information’ (Figure 14).

I had a flip through the Online Maga-
zine; after all, according to some, maga-
zines and books made of paper will all be
replaced someday by electronic ‘publica-
tions’ such as this one. At that stage the
Enconn magazine consisted of only two
articles, both of which seemed as though
they'd be interesting to people in the in-
dustry. Another issue was apparently in
the making, but wasn’t actually on-line yet
— even the electronic media isn’t imper-
vious to deadline hassles.

The Entertainment Connection’s ‘Direc-
tory’ proved to be a variety of listings: us-
ers of the Teledata entertainment industry
section; recording studios in Victoria; hire
and production firms in Victoria: manufac-
turers and distributors of music equip-
ment in the USA; and other categories
were still being compiled.

My next choice from the Entertainment
Connection menu was B/boards, which
summoned a list of categories (Flgure 15)

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into which you might be able to place mes-
sages, and from which you could read
other people’s messages. (Cathy still hada
Christmas greeting from the Teledata
SySOp.)

The first choice on the recording and
broadcasting bulletin board returned a
tiny and somewhat useless message: “This
is a public domain bulletin board related
to recording and broadcasting, use it to-
day.” But how? A quick glance at the com-
mand card provided instructions, but since
| had nothing to say about recording and
broadcasting, | dipped out.

I peeked into the [okes Bulletin Board
forsome light relief — hmm, very light. The
first joke ran “How many sound guys does
it take to change a light globe?” Answer:
“None, that’s the lighting crew's job” (and
the punctuation wasn’t quite as good as
mine, either).

|] enjoyed using Teledata; aside from the
occasional non-stop-scrolling problem,
the screens and command card gave meail
the help I needed, and knowing what my
manoeuvres were going to cost

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+ $1.50 p&p

was very soothing.

What the service seems to need nowis a
lot more users, both providing and acces-
sing information. | believe Viatel is ex-
periencing similarly unspectacular traffic
volumes. Systems such as these should
have a dynamic atmosphere about them
— at the moment Teledata seems to be
waiting for a rush of participation. In the
meantime it’s building up its services, and
the Gateway concept in particular should
attract many would-be users whod like the
whole data communications gauntlet to
be more easily negotiable.

Things to Watch Out for

For future issues of Your Computer I'll be
accessing some overseas facilities, and
leaving messages On local bulletin boards
and other services asking sysops to let me
know of new developments. Really, the fun
and benefits are to be gained by doing it
yourself, but if you're not yet using compu-
ter communications, perhaps I'll be able to
tell you about something that will start the
ball rolling. oO

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TULPI MODEM

PTLY BILLED AS “the intelligent
modem, like no other modem”,
the Tulpi is something of an enig-
; ™ ma. While it has some of the

finest Reriware I've seen in an Australian-
made modem, the unit we tested also had
a clumsy, difficult software interface.

The Tulpi is manufactured by Telecorp of
Terrey Hills, Sydney. Managing Director
Richard Graham is well-known in the in-
dustry as the driving force behind Osborne
Australia before the collapse of Osborne
Corporation in the United States. I found
Telecorp’s service both courteous and
prompt, and have had similar reports from
other Tulpi users.

The Tulpi is an impressively large mod-
em with the box measuring 260 mm by 250
mm by 64 mm. This is larger than a stan-
dard Telecom phone and I found it tended
to dominate any desk it was sitting on.

Poor Documentation

The front panel has nine visible LEDs in-
dicating the modem’s present state. When
the modem is switched on these LEDs go
through a test sequence in which they
flash until the modem is ready to receive
commands. Unfortunately, the Tulpi docu-
mentation provides only a limited ex-
planation of what these LED indicators are
for, and while the functions of Power,
Online, Ring and Test should be self-
evident, others like RX, TX, RTS and RLSD
are likely to be mystifying to anew modem
user. Another LED indicator labelled Fault
isn't mentioned in the documentation,
and when at the end of the test period the
Tulpi refused to send anything to the com-
puter the FAULT indicator didn’t light up. A
supplementary page covering the LEDs is
now included in Tulpi manuals, and a new
manual is said to be on the way.

There are no switches on the Tulpi, not
even for power. While it doesn’t consume
much (only 11 watts), I’m uneasy about
leaving anything electrical switched on,
and found it inconvenient having to reach
down to the skirting board outlet to turn
the Tulpi off. (Telecorp says the Tulpi is
designed to run 24 hours a day, which is
why there is no switch).

A DB 25 connector with a Telecom 605
plug for the RS232C interface is on the
back panel with a cable for connecting to
the telephone system. A cheap pushbut-
ton telephone with poor voice quality
(since replaced with an improved unit) was
connected to the Tulpi, but as this wasn't a

44

Should you tiptoe past the
Tulpi, or pluck it? Bill
Bolton wasn't sure when
our review unit exhibited a
few shortcomings. But the
manufacturer reacted to
the criticisms with the
promise of an update (due
out by the time you read
this) which could turn it
into a real winner.

telephone review | disconnected the
phone from the modem and restrapped
the Tulpi for normal Telecom Mode 3 op-
eration with a Telecom phone.

The two halves of the case clip together
and it took a few moments to figure out
how it came apart, as (perhaps under-
standably) there were no instructions for
accessing the internals of the modem.

The Circuitry

A superb piece of hardware engineering!
The circuit board is of a high quality and is
cleanly laid out with good components
mounted on it. No circuit diagram of the
unit was supplied.

The Tulpi uses the AMD 7910 ‘world’
modem chip, as do most of its competi-
tors, and this largely sets the basic oper-
ational performance parameters of the
modem. The technical performance of the
hardware was very good, with low distor-
tion levels and high stability.

Telecorp claims the Tulpi has ‘exclusive
longline’ circuitry, which means “if the line
is so poor that reliable communication is
impossible, longline will disconnect’. As

you will see, | had trouble with the Tulpi

disconnecting under what I considered to
be normal line circumstances, but I'm not
sure whether the longline feature had any-
thing to do with this.

The Intelligence
The intelligence is provided by an 8085

CPU with control software in EPROM:
(erasable programmable read-only mem-
ory). The various operating modes of the
Tulpi are under software control, and it
‘wakes up’ into a mode programmed into
the EPROM on the circuit board.

The default wake-up mode is for 1200/75
bps V.23 operation using a data format of
seven data bits, one stop bit, and even
parity. Telecorp will program whatever
‘wake-up’ you require into the EPROM fora
nominal amount after purchase, or free if
specified when ordering.

V.23 Modem Standard
The V.23 modem standard isn’t really a
full-duplex standard. It’s primarily in-
tended as a half-duplex standard, with all
communication going over the same data
channel. The two ends have to agree over
who is sending and who is receiving at any
particular time with half-duplex operation.
The V.23 standard provides a 75 bps ‘back
channel’ which is independent of the | 200
bps channel, so a form of full-duplex op-
eration with 1200 bps in one direction and
75 bps in the other direction is possible.
Because the 75 bps channel is a ‘back
channel’ rather than a normal full-duplex
channel, an RS232C interface doesn’t
usually bring it out to the normal transmit
and receive data pins on the interface. For
astrict V.23 modem implementation you'd
need a different cable to connect your
computer to the modem from the one
you'd use for a V.21 300 bps modem.
Another problem is that many personal
computers can’t ‘split’ the baud rates on
their communications ports. On an IBM
PC, for instance, there's no choice of set-
ting the serial ports for 1200 bps operation
in one direction and 75 bps in the other,
You can only have the same baud rate
selected for both directions of com-
munication.

The Tulpi Buffer

The Tulpi overcomes the two problems of
the RS232C pin connections and ‘split’
baud rate by internal buffering between
the phone line and the computer interface.
This means you can program the phone
line communication speed to 1200/75 bps
or 300/300 bps while the computer inter-
face is programmed to operate at. say,
1200/1200 bps. The RS232C interface
brings out the transmitted and received
data for both 1200 bps and 300 bps opera-
tion on the normal transmit and receive

pins (pins 3 and 2 respectively).

The user can program the computer in-
terface to operate at any speed between 75
bps and 19200 bps. Different baud rates for
the transmit and receive direction as well
as the phone line speed can also be prog-
rammed; the choices range from 75 bps to
1200 bps, with the modem selecting either
the V.21 or V.23 modem standard as
appropriate. This phone line speed seleéc-
tion is also used for setting whether the
CCITT modem standards (V.21 and V.23) or
Bell modem standards (Bell 103, 202) are
used. The modem defaults to CCITT stan-
dards unless the Bell standard its specifi-
cally selected.

Obviously if the phone line speed is set
to a lower value than the computer inter-
face speed there must be some control of
the flow of data or data will be lost. The
Tulpi uses the Data Set Ready (DSR) line
on the RS232C interface to control the flow
of data from the computer to the modem.
When the Tulpi has almost filled its buffer
with data from the computer which has not
yet been sent over the telephone line, it
switches the DSR line on the RS232C inter-
face to false. When the buffer is empty it
switches the DSR line to true to tell the
computer it's ready to accept mote data.

This means the communications port on
the computer must be set up to respond to
the DSR line from the modem as a hand-
shake signal. In a strict RS232C serlal port
implementation this should always be
true, but some PCs won't respond to the
DSR line because it's disabled in the PC
hardware or the PC software isn’t program-
med to respond to it. XON-XOFF hand-
shaking is also provided.

Because of the two-step procedure
needed to change the speed of both the
line intetface and the computer interface
on the Tulpi, I found it convenient to leave
the computer interface set at 1200 bps and
only change the speed on the phone line
interface. The internal Tulpi buffer is 2
Kbytes, and although | didn't have DSR
handshaking enabled on the computers |
was using, | didn't have a problem with lost
data when sending data to the modem at
[200 bps for transmission at 300 bps as
long as | didn't type too far ahead of what
was being echoed from the remote system.

When using the Christensen protocol to
transfer files, the computer would only
send one data block of 131 bytes at 1200
bps to the modem before waiting for a
response from the remote computer, so it
never came close to filling the buffer, as
software handshaking was preventing data
loss.

TULPI MODEM

The two ends have to
agree over who is sending
and who is receiving at
any particular time with
half-duplex operation.

The Tulpi allows the data format for the
computer interface (the number of data,
stop and parity bits) and the data format
of the phone line communications to be
Set quite independently. It’s possible, for
instance, to have the data format of the
modem line set at seven data bits, one
stop bit and even parity while the compu-
ter interface is set to eight data bits, one
stop bit and no parity.

The Commands

The Tulpi has 12 commands for program-
ming its operation: answer, dial, equalise,
format, hangup, new, orjginate, private
line, speed, test, unlisten and verbose. The
basic operating parameters at ‘wake-up’
after the power is turned on are obtained
from the EPROM.

The commands are sent to the computer
as an attention character (which defaults
to a full stop, ‘.') with the first letter of the
command. The user can change this to any
other ASCII character with the ‘new’ com-
mand. | didn’t like the default choice of the
‘’, but more of that later.

A command to set ‘originate’ mode
would look like ‘.O’. The command to dial
the telephone number (07) 378-9530 (the
Software Tools RCPM number) from an
exchange which supports tone dialling
would be '.D # 073789530 T’.

The command set allows most of the
important operational parameters of the
modem to be changed, but some are de-
signed in and can't be altered. The com-
mand set is fairly logical; some commands
will give English response messages, and if
the Tulpi doesn't recognise a command it
returns an ‘Uh?’ message (newer versions
say ‘Command Error’).

The Gotchas

There were several aspects of the com-
mand set which created problems for me,
the most serious of which concerned the
‘unlisten’ command. The Tulpi we tested
had to be commanded to go into an unlis-
ten mode when it went on-line; it didn’t do
it automatically. If you're using the default

attention character ’.’, and forget to set the
‘unlisten’ mode, you'll have problems ev-
ery time you try to send a ‘.’ character.

Telecorp is now shipping all its modems
with ‘unlisten’ as the power-up default un-
less otherwise requested. That's a big im-
provement, but it's still not enough —
once you set it to ‘listen’ (say to hang up
from your first call) it stays in that mode
next time you go on-line unless you re-
member to set it back.

Imagine you're entering a message into
an electronic mail system and put a’.’ at
the end of a sentence which finishes mid-
line. You then enter the next sentence
starting on the same line, and when you
press return to end that line the modem
comes back to you with an ‘Uh?’ message.
You go back and get the mail system to
retype the last line and you find that every-
thing after the '.’ is missing. The Tulpi has
interpreted everything after the ‘ as a
command and stored it in its internal com-
mand buffer for processing. It usually
won't recognise your sentence as a com-
mand (unless you're particularly unlucky)
and so just gives you the ‘Uh?’ response.

The solution sounds simple, but make
gure you issue an ‘unlisten’ command be-
fore going on-line.

When using V.21 standard many users
find phone lines will work better in one
direction than in another. A phone line
which is unreliable for data when the per-
son making the call is in originate mode
and the person receiving the call is in
answer mode (the norm for data calls) can
work fine if both ends switch modes. Some
remote services, such as the Software
Tools RCPM, give callers the option of ‘flip-
ping’ their modem from originate to
answer mode soon after logging on.
(Around 25 per cent of callers to the Soft-
ware Tools RCPM use this facility.)

The Tulpi can’t change modem modes
effectively when it’s on-line. While dumb
modems allow the user to change between
answer and originate modes by a switch or
a control line on the RS232C interface, the
Tulpi requires software commands. Once
it's connected to a remote modem the Tul-
pi will disconnect if it loses carrier. When
you issue the software commands to
change the Tulpi mode from originate to
answer, for example, the Tulpi will lose
carrier unless the modem at the other end
changes mode at the same time. The win-
dow for the ‘same time’ seemed a lot shor-
ter than the claimed 600 ms.

Most remote systems wil] tolerate a car-
rier loss of several seconds (Telecom reg- >»

45

ulations allow a loss of up to 30 seconds
before a disconnect must be forced by the
answering end), which is plenty of time for
a user to change the mode on a dumb
modem.

The carrier loss disconnect also makes
the Tulpi unsuitable for auto-answer op-
eration on remote systems. Minor inter-
ruptions to carrier due to crosstalk, ‘line
hits’ and other transient line phenomena
are quite common in my experience with

TULPI MODEM

the Australian telephone system, and may
corrupt data, but are rarely severe enough
to warrant automatic termination of the
call.

When I tried the Tulpi in auto-answer
mode on the Software Tools RCPM I got a
barrage of complaints about premature
disconnects from callers, and the number
of unsuccessful calls reported by the com-
munications supervisor software sky-
rocketed to nearly 50 per cent (it's typically

about 4 per cent).

i found it impossible to connect to
several remote systems when using the
Tulpi in its normal mode, while ] had no
trouble using other dumb and smart mod-
ems. This. was because the remote sys-
tem’s auto-answer sequences ‘glitched’
carrier slightly at answer, which was
enough to cause the Tulpi to disconnect.

The solution was to use the ‘private line’
mode, in which the Tulpi wouldn't care if it

HOW MODEMS GOT SMART

Conceived in 1977, where are Intelligent Modems at today? Bill Bolton
gives us the lowdown on the Hayes 300, the de facto standard for

T he concept of intelligent, or smart,
modems arrived when DC Hayes
Corp introduced the Smartmodem 300
to the American market in 1977. The
Hayes Smartmodem 300 was a Bell 103
standard modem which could be com-
manded by software to auto answer,
dial telephone numbers and change
the number of its operating para-
meters. The user interface was well
thought out, and over several years be-
came a de facto standard. for Bell 103
‘smart’ modems from other manufac-
turers, |

in about 1980 Hayes introduced the
Smartmodem 1200— an enhanced ver-
sion of the Smartmodem 300 — which
could handle Bell 212A 1200 bps full-
duplex communications as well as Bell
103 300 bps. Hayes expanded the com-
mand set to include a number of extra
features necessary to control a dual-
mode modem and added auto setting
of the modem speed by sensing what
baud rate the computer was using to
send information to the modem over
the RS232 link. The modem could also
auto sense what speed an incoming call
was at and tell the computer.

The expanded Hayes command set
for the Smartmodem 1200 became the
de facto standard for the 1200 bps mod-
em market in the United States. Hayes
and other manufacturers also intro-
duced plug-in board modems for the
IBM PC, which were generally similar to
the ‘standalone’ 1200 bps products.

The Dilemma of Intelligence
The problem with intelligent modems
is how to get them to distinguish be-

Bell 103 ‘smarts’.

tween commands you want them to re-
spond to and data you want them to
send to the line. Hayes decided that to
get the modem to do anything at all
you'd have to ensure almost any com-
mand started with a predefined com-
mand delimiter, specified as ‘AT’ (for
Attention). (Sometimes you'll see the
Hayes command set referred to as the
‘AT’ command set.) After the initial ‘AT
further commands are sent to program
the modem.

As the letter combination ‘AT’ occurs
in many English words, Hayes designed
its modems to go into an ‘unlisten’
mode as soon as they actually con-
nected to another modem.

So far so good, but what happens
when you want to change a parameter
of the modem when it's on-line? Hayes
decided to have a period of silence fol-
lowed by an ‘unusual’ combination of
characters and another period of si-
lence to get the modem’s attention
while it was on-line. After the modem
received and recognised the on-line
‘escape’ sequence (from either end of
the data link) it would again respond to
AT commands (from either end of the
data link). A one-second silence was
followed by three ‘+’ characters fol-
lowed by another second of silence as
the default on-line ‘escape’ sequence
was selected.

Though unlikely, the ‘++-+' sequ-
ence could occur in transmitted data,
so Hayes allows the user to reprogram
the escape sequence to use a different
character and silence time. The main
purpose of this appears to be for auto
answer modems, which generally get

reprogrammed to something other
than ‘+++’ to avoid the autoanswer
modem getting reprogrammed if a cal-
ler with a similar modem tries to re-
program his modem while on-line.

The Hayes command set allows
fairly detailed control over the oper-
ational parameters of the modem, even
down to the level of reading the mod-
em’‘s USART status registers. The mod-
em can be instructed to report ‘results’
of certain operations in either a numer-
ic code or English words like ‘NO CAR-
RIER’ of ‘CONNECT 1200'.

Hayes has recently introduced a
Smartmodem 2400 and further ex-
tended the command set to allow con-
trol over new parameters associated
with the extra facilities provided in the
modem.

Command Set Support
The fact that the Hayes command set
has become a firmly entrenched de facto
standard indicates that it successfully
addresses most of the needs of users.
Most communications software
available for PCs assumes you are using
a Hayes command set-compatible
modem as its default. If you’re Jucky the
communications software will allow
you to easily redefine the modem con-
trol command sets, but still usually ex-
pects the replacement codes to have a
general similarity to the Hayes set in
terms of the parameters you're able to
control. Many public domain programs
support only the Hayes command set,
and you have to change the program
source code if you want to use a diffe-
rent command set. ia]

46

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48

got carrier from the remote end or not. As
the name suggests, this mode is intended
for dedicated lines rather than the normal
switched telephone network. Once put
into the private line mode the Tulpi will
only recognise one command, so private
line mode won't allow originate/answer
mode changing when on-line.

Most other smart modems I've seen
allow the disconnect time parameter to be
programmed. The Hayes command set
allows programming this parameter up to
25.5 seconds, while the default on Hayes
command set modems is normally 700
milliseconds.

On-Line
Apart from the problems previously men-
tioned, the Tulpi performed well when it
was on-line and | used it extensively for
V.21 300 bps operation to a large number
of timeshare and PC remote systems.
The amount of destinations for V.23
1200/75 operation was limited to Austpac,
MIDAS, Viatel and some casual file trans-
fers with other V.23 modem users. I had no
problems accessing MIDAS, Austpac and
Viatel with V.23. When transferring files to
other V.23 ‘outstation’ modems it often
took several tries to get a telephone line
which would successfully support a file
transfer, but this is typical of all the V.23
modems I've tested, andthe Tulpi certainly
performed creditably at V.23 standard. A
brief test was made locally using Bell 103
standard and no problems were encoun-
tered, and no attempt was made to use the
Beil 202 mode.

Documentation

The Tulpi documentation is a neat [5-
page, loose-leaf manual with no. page
numbers or index. It covers the Tulpi com-
mand set in detail but is very light on any
physical details of the modem. I'd rate the
documentation as merely adequate.

The Command Set Again

The Tulpi got its commercial start in life
with a commitment from ICL to buy a
quantity of the modems from the initial
product runs, so certain aspects of the
modem were tailored to meet ICL’s needs
(a feature most strongly reflected in the
command set).

I've been using modems which use the
Hayes command set for quite some time
now and have found the Hayes commands
give the user a convenient and largely un-
obtrusive way of controlling a modem. Cer-
tainly | haveno complaints about anything

TULPI MODEM

| can't do with a smart modem using the
Hayes commands. On the other hand, !
found the Tulpi command set cumber-
some to use and it often got in the way of
my communications activities — but
perhaps this is because I'm already used to
the Hayes commands.

Some User Comments

{ solicited about a dozen comments from
Tulpi users about their experiences with
the modem through the Software Tools
RCPM. Most of the responses were from
business users, and boiled down to the
same thing: “The Tulpi is a fine modem but
some of its features are hard to live with.”

The Bottom Line

The hardware engineering on the Tulpi is
excellent, but its controlling software
leaves a lot to be desired. Fortunately, soft-
ware problems are much easier to over-
come than those attributable to hardware.

Telecorp has already announced some
additional features for the Tulpi, including
a non-volatile RAM to store the operation-
al parameters so the Tulpi will remember
and wake up to its set parameters after
being switched off. Others such as the
‘answer page’ are also in the pipeline, but
further comment will have to wait for
another time.

Most significantly, Telecorp has
announced support for the Hayes com-
mand set. It should be available by the
time you read this. The move, combined
with other changes and new documenta-
tion, could well remove any complaints |
have about the Tulpi. The final verdict, of
course, will have to wait until we've seen
one.

if you need a modem for auto-answer
operation or have problems with usually
reliable but occasionally questionable
telephone fines I couldn't recommend the
Tulpi modem in the form tested. The com-
mand set is usable but cumbersome and
doesn't allow sufficient contro! of all desir-
able modem parameters:

The Tulpi wil! serve well in an environ-
ment where line reliability is good and
your communications software is easily
adaptable to the Tulpi command set.

it comes at a premium price with a re-
commended retail of $989, although an
‘Econo Tulpi’ with all the current features
but limited future upgradability is due to
be released at less than $700. I'll reserve
judgement on whether it represents value
for money until I've seen the latest up-
grades. C

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PACKETS

WHAT'S IN

THE PACKET?

Some time ago we asked Bill Bolton to review various
ranges of new modems appearing on the market (the
Great Modem Search?). In order to review a modem,
you have to use it to communicate with something,
so lately Bill has been doing a good deal of
communicating. Along the way he's discovered a few
things about the kind of data communications
networks becoming available to Australians — so
here’s both the good news and bad news about
sending binary data over digital packet switching networks.

> |

COMMUNICATIONS via data packet
switching networks is becoming a fact of
life for many Australian PC users. The OTC
data packet switching network, MIDAS, has
been with us for several years now, and
more recently Telecom has got into the act
with Austpac. Many MIDAS users now ac-
cess it via Austpac.

The other growing area for data packet
switching is digital packet radio; a grow-
ing band of enthusiasts combines the hob-
bies of ham radio and computers. Using
techniques originally pioneered in Cana-
da, several local digital packet radio net-
works are active in Australia. As write this,
the networks are geographically isolated,
but moves are afoot to establish an
amateur ‘data highway’ packet radio link
between Sydney, Melbourne and perhaps
Brisbane.

Now digital packet switching systems
are supposed to be as transparent as
possible in data terms, which means they
shouldn't interfere with any data passed
across the network. Transparency is a rela-
tive thing, though, and when someone
says a digital packet network is ‘transpa-
rent’ to data they usually mean it’s trans-
parent to the content of the data, ratherthan
to the timing of the data.

Why are we Waiting?

This means your data should arrive at the
other end without corruption, but there
isn’t necessarily a guarantee as to exactly
when it will arrive. There can be consider-
able delays between transmission from a
computer sending data into a packet
switching network and the reception of
that data by another computer. The delays
may range from fractions of a second (fairly
common) to several minutes (fairly un-
common). Those of you who read the Au-
stralian computer industry weekly news-
papers will be aware of the continuing dis-
cussion, claims and counter-claims about
the degree of network time delays being
experienced by Austpac users, for ex-
ample.

lf the network is using a Satellite some-
where in the path the data is following,
there is the additional real delay involved
in sending the data up to the satellite and
back down to earth. This certainly affects
MIDAS at the moment, and with AUSSAT
almost upon us will probably affect Aust-
pac in the future too.

If you're simply transferring data with-
out any error checking — that is, retrieving
textual data from a database — the delays
aren't a problem and may often go un-

32

PACKETS

At present networks are
geographically isolated,
but moves are afoot to
establish an amateur ‘data
highway’ packet radio link
between Sydney,
Melbourne and perhaps
Brisbane.

noticed by human operators. The problem
arises when it's time to get down to the
serious business of binary data transfer.

The Packet and the PC

Particularly now Telecom‘s Austpac net-
work is maturing, host computer systems
designed for communications with per-
sonal computers are starting to be accessi-
ble from it — for example, the Mi-
Computer Club is seriously working on
getting the MiCC bulletin board system
onto Austpac with a multi-user capability
(don't hound the editorial offices about it

just yet, we'll keep you informed of de-

velopments).

Several host computer systems in the
US which are accessible via Austpac and
MIDAS offer various communications pro-
tocols suitable for use with PCs for trans-
ferring data. The most common of these is
the well-known Christensen or Modem
protocol, which i've previously described
in detail.

The Christensen protocol wasn't de-
signed for communicating over a data
packet switching network; the major prob-
lem is the delays between the two ends of
the network. This means two computers
attempting to communicate may not be
able to respond quickly to each others’
data transfers.

There is an extension to the Christensen
protocol called the CRC option. In the ori-
ginal Christensen protocol, the checksum
of each block is only one byte long andis a
simple modulo 256 sum. This works well in
practice for most cases, though it can occa-
sionally allow errors to go undetected ina
supposedly error-free protocol.

The CRC option works as follows:

Instead of the receiving program send-
ing <NAK> at the very beginning of a data
exchange, it sends the letter 'C’. If the

sending program can use the CRC option,
it treats this just like a <NAK>, except
that it computes a two-byte CCITT CRC-16
check value and adds it to the end of all
blocks instead of the one-byte checksum. If
the sender cannot use the CRC option, the
‘C’ character has no meaning and is
ignored. The receiving program should try
about three ‘C’s before deciding the sender
will not handle CRC check values. The re-
ceiving program transmits a <NAK> to
start a checksum Christensen file transfer. .

Christensen Protocol Origins

The Christensen protocol was originally
devised by Ward Christensen as a protocol
for communications between personal
computers.

The user of one PC runs a communica-
tions program called Modem (or YAM,
Mite, Crosstalk or whatever) and dials up
another personal computer system, usual-
ly an RCPM or similar system. The PC user
then tells the RCPM to run a remote com-
munications program called XModem or
XYAM. The two communications programs
then use the Christensen protocol to
transfer files between the two computers.

When Ward Christensen designed his
protocol he made several assumptions im-
plicit to its design:

@ File lengths can be made exact multi-
ples of 128 bytes for transmission pur-
poses. The smallest CP/M sector is 128
bytes, so 128 bytes was the size of the
smallest possible data block on a CP/M
disk. .

w Data format is eight bits, no parity, one
stop bit.

™ Both computers are single-user person-
al computers.

= Both computers are talking to each
other over a communications link which
introduces no appreciable transmis-
sion delays, such as a domestic phone
line.

Christensen Protocol Overview

It's been quite a while since the last article
describing the Christensen protocol
appeared, so let's have a quick look at what
happens.

The Christensen protocol is, in practical
terms, a half-duplex protocol; information
only travels in one direction at once. The
protocol works like this:

[. When the receiving program is ready to
start receiving data, it transmits a<<NAK>
(negative acknowledgment) every 10
seconds or so.

2. The sending program waits for a

<NAK> or <ACK> from the receiving
program to tell it to start sending. If it
hasn't received a <NAK> after a certain
time it sends a block anyway to see if that
will ‘wake up’ the receiver. Each block has a
block number (modulo 256), 128 bytes of
data, and a checksum. Once the block is
sent, the sender waits.

3. The receiving program verifies it re-
ceived the block without errors by compar-
ing the checksum sent with the block to a
locally computed checksum for the block.
If the received checksum matches, the re-
ceiving program sends an <ACK> charac-
ter, and the sender transmits the next 128
bytes of the file (step 2). If the received
checksum doesn’t match, or if about [0
seconds expires before a complete block is
received, the receiving program sends a
<NAK> character to the sender.

4. If the sender receives an <ACK> it
sends the next block of data; however, if it
receives a <NAK> it re-transmits the last
block.

5. Steps 2, 3 and 4 will repeat until the end
of the file is found by the sender. Once this
happens an <EOT> character is transmit-
ted instead of a block of data.

6. When the receiving program gets an
<EOT> it sends an <ACK> to the sender.
The file transmission process is complete.

Christensen Protocol Timing

Since the Christensen protocol was origi-

nally devised for PC-to-PC communica-

tions, it has some problems fitting into an
environment where the two computers are
connected by a data packet switching net-

work rather than a simple phone line. A

packet network can often introduce long

delays in what should be continuous com-
munications.

When these delays arise, the PCs. using
Christensen protocol communications
programs may find those programs mis-
take the delays for a breakdown in com-
munications. If a Jong delay occurs in the
middle of a data packet, which may be in
the middle of a Christensen data block
transmission, many Christensen protocol
implementations interpret that as mean-
ing there has been data lost. These delays
result in the following symptoms:

@ The receiver cannot successfully receive
even the first block of data.

m@ The receiving program retries a large
number of blocks (or <NAKs> a maijor-
ity of blocks), although it eventually re-
ceives the file.

m The receiving program suddenly aborts
in the middle of a seemingly successful

PACKETS:

The Christensen protocol
wasn't designed for
communicating over a
data packet switching
network; the major
problem is the delays
between the two ends of
the network.

file: transfer.

H@ The receiving program has great diffi-
culty in receiving the file, and gives up
anywhere from five to. 20 blocks into the
transfer.

® The file transfer proceeds very smoothly
with several successfully transferred
blocks, when suddenly every block
transmitted is rejected (<NAK>ed) by
the receiving program.

Just to make life difficult, all these prob-
lems are indistinguishable from other
communications problems (such as noisy
phone lines, bad parity settings).

A key question for people having prob-
lems with Christensen protocol transfers
over data packet networks is: ‘Have you
ever successfully done a Christensen pro-
tocol transfer over the network?”

Delays Within Blocks

Ward Christensen, the developer of the
protocol, recommends that a gap of more
than one second be treated as a break-

down of communications. On a normal
terrestrial telephone line this makes
sense, as there is no reason for a transmis-
sion to suddenly stop and then resume. On
a data packet network, however, a one-
second delay is not only possible, but hap-
pens frequently.

ifthe receiving program decides this de-
lay isa breakdown of somesort, it will send
a <NAK> to the sender, requesting that
the block be retransmitted. Unfortunately,
the rest of the first block is still ‘in the
pipe’, and when the receiving program gets
this block it may do anything from abort
the transfer to ignore it.

Let’s assume the receiving program
handles the rest of the block gracefully.
The sender will get the <NAK> sent by the
receiving program and retransmit the
block. If there’s a delay in the middle of
that retransmission, the receiving program
will <NAK> it too, and so on forever. So
when the receiving program is too sensi-
tive to delays in the middle of transmis-
sions, either the receiver gives up very
quickly or it <NAK>s every block trans-
mitted. ;

Delays between Blocks
Fortunately, most implementations of the
Christensen protocol aren't that sensitive
to delays in the middle of blocks, but other
delays can cause problems. When a block
is received the PC will immediately
<ACK> or <NAK> it and wait for the next
block to be sent. Ward Christensen states
that if the next block doesn't arrive within
10 seconds, the receiver should send its
<ACK> or <NAK> again.

Now, ten seconds isn't a very long time
when a data packet network is heavily

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53

loaded. The <ACK> or <NAK> will arrive
at the sender, the sender will begin trans-
mission of the next block, but the block
won't make it to the receiving PC in time.
So the receiving program transmits a

<NAK>, even though the host has cor-.

rectly received the first <ACK> or
<NAK>.

This means a <NAK> enters the data
packet network, even though the sender
responded tothe first <ACK> or <NAK>.
The sender may find itself one block ahead
of the receiver, causing the receiving prog-
ram to quit immediately, or the sender
may find itself stuck one <ACK> or
<NAK> behind the receiving program,
which could result in a successful but ex-
tremely tedious file transfer. Alternatively
the data packet network delays could be
bad enough that the receiving program
gets through half a dozen or so blocks
and gives up.

Flow Control from the Network
When the user is sending data to a data
packet switching network PAD (Packet

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a4

PACKETS

Since the Christensen
protocol was originally
devised for PC-to-PC
communication, it has

some problem fitting into

an environment where the

two computers are

connected by a data

packet switching network
rather than a simple

phone line.

Assembly/Disassembly interface), the PAD
will send an XOFF (Control S) character to
the micro if the PC is transmitting faster
than the PAD can send the data to the
destination on the data packet switching
network.

The PAD doesn't understand that you
may be trying to perform a Christensen
protocol data transfer, so it may send you
an XOFF while the sending PC is transmit-
ting a Christensen data block (though for-
tunately this appears not to happen too
often in practice). If <XOFF> gets gar-
baged due to line noise, the sending PC
may mistake it for a <NAK> and will im-
mediately retransmit the block — which in
turn may cause the data packet network
PAD to send even more <XOFF>s and the
sending PC to see even more <NAK>s.

> a

If the sending PC thinks every block it
transmits is being <NAK>ed it aborts the
transmission quickly. This problem can
strike any time during an transfer viaa data
packet network, even though things were
going well up to that point (such as on the
last block of a 2000-block transfer).

What Can You Do About It
If you want to avoid these problems your
Christensen protocol implementation
should wait 20 seconds before sending a
<NAK> ona lost block. It should wait at
least 10 seconds during delays in the mid-
dle of a block, and it should respond to (or
at least ignore) flow control characters
from the node during uploading of files.
Many programs which have timing prob-
lems with data packet networks can be
patched to relax their timing parameters. A
typical place to look is for calls to a ‘timed
input’ routine (a routine that will only wait
so long for a character to arrive). Patching
that routine to make it wait perhaps twice
as long or patching the code that calls the
routine to use a longer time-out value
would help.

A Few Other Gotchas

| frequently hear the complaint that few
mainframe computers offer communica-
tions protocols that are compatible with
those readily available on PCs. The basis of
this is the thought that a machine as
powerful as a mainframe should be able to
handle a microcomputer communications
protocol without any effort at all, especial-
ly as the most common protocol (Christen-
sen) is so simple.

More frequently we are starting to see
large mainframe computer systems trying
to accommodate communications with
those bothersome but prolific PCs. The

__ Ts, kn
Te

a

7

modern PC is built around a technology
that treats data in 8-bit chunks — the in-
famous byte. Not so for mainframe sys-
tems, which may treat data in anything
from 7-bit chunks upwards.

The internal data format of a mainframe
often has no problems in handling text (or
7-bit ASCII data), as that is what it uses to
communicate with its operators, but when
it comes to handling 8-bit data (such as
the 8-bit binary data that makes up a PC-
DOS command file) there can be severe
storage penalties in a mainframe environ-
ment. For example, if the mainframe was
set up to handle data in 7-bit chunks, to
store a piece of 8-bit data would tie up 14
bits of storage. To overcome this, those
mainframe computer systems that allow
the handling of 8-bit binary data usually try
to make the storage usage more efficient in
some way — perhaps by storing 7 bytes of
8-bit data in eight words of 7-bit data.

This may mean there is a little extra
overhead (time delay) at the mainframe
end of a PC-to-mainframe link when trans-
ferring binary data between the systems;

PACKETS

The modern PC is built
round a technology that
treats data in 8-bit
chunks — the infamous
byte. Not so for
mainframe systems, which
may treat data in
anything from 7-bit
chunks upwards.

more often it means complicated or clum-
sy software on the mainframe as far as the
PC user is concerned.

Surely there must be a Solution ...
Well, there is — sort of. The sort of pro-
tocol that can overcome most of the prob-

lems with timing on data networks is cal-
led a‘sliding window’ protocol. IBM's SNA
network architecture incorporates sliding
window concepts. Discussion of sliding
window concepts can wait for another
time, but there is a commercial product
called Blast that implements this sort of
protocol. As a side effect, it is also com-
mercially available for a wide range of
computer systems from mainframes to
PCs, so it at least partially overcomes the
problems of getting a PC-compatible pro-
tocol easily onto a mainframe. Unfortu-
nately the Jast copy of Blast | saw had a
very poor user interface, though it
appeared to work well, and it’s expensive
in PC terms.

Sliding window communications pro-
tocols on PCs will be the coming thing.
Several of the commercial suppliers of PC
communications software in the US are
trying to agree on a protocol, and they
understand that they have to make it pub-
lic to get it readily accepted. So stay tuned
to Your Computer for news on develop-
ments. a

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The Great Database Search: R:Base 4000....................

Which is the greatest database of them all? Computer journalists all over
the country are gazing into their screens, trying to resolve the issue ...
unfortunately, some of them have become mesmerised. Shaking Les once
a day for the last month seems to have dislodged the poison, and we
finally have an appraisal of R:Base.

The Omni-Readee ooo ccccccsessesssessnsnsetsnsssentantnstsnnnnnses

More tedious than typing; slower than we'd ever imagined; and not
always accurate — it’s the Omni-Reader, an optical character recogni-
lion machine. That's not to say the Omni-Reader doesn't have its uses, or
that it didn't cause a lot of excitement in our office — we're looking
forward to a more refined version.

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Searching for the best way to pull down your menus, control your mice
and graphically interact with people? Kay Fielden has a comparative look
at two tools which may help you achieve your desires.

This all-Australian product has matured into its second generation. What
sort of offspring has Zardax produced? Richard Walding was involved in
its infancy, and notes the family resemblances and differences.

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In September, Frank Lee fell head-over-heels for Toshiba's portable
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wait. Expensive and attractive, with a high compatibility rating, what
were Frank's chances of avoiding another entanglement?

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There's more to Enable than word processing: it's spreadable, graphable,
good with tables and voluble. \t'll also disable your printer if you fob it off
with imilations. The inevitable Frank Lee concludes his review.

Aetna erupts! Insurance agents assured of success as people run for cover!
Humble micro saves the day!

Bit Bucket... .ee@.. nee... en...

The bucket's not brimming this month — just enough to whet your
whistle: Tandy’s doubled its model 100 and produced another take-it-
anywhere, itly-bitty micro; and thal enormous program, Symphony, has
grown even enormouser with the addition of a spelling checker.

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Computer-illiterate journos versus portable word processor; we didn't
know whether to pily the Brother WP600 or our intrepid pair of Doyle
and Murphy more. Neither side came off unscathed in the confrontation,
but the Doyle/Murphy commando-style of learning seems to have
produced results.

a7

R:BASE

R:BASE 4000

Since the advent of dBase ll, relational databases
have been all the rage. \n a long-awaited instalment
of the Great Database Search, Les Bell investigates
R:Base, an advanced model.

IN USING a relational database, you view:

the data it contains as a collection of
tables, each accessible through some key
field or fields, The classic example is of a
customer-orders database, one table of
which contains the customer master re-
cords (name, address, account number,
and so on) and the other the transactions
(an entry for each order).

Ideally, as you move through the trans-
actions table, the master records table
should also automatically position itself
so the full customer details are im-
mediately, automatically available. In fact,
it should be possible to view the two tables
at the same time, with matching records
‘aligned’, so to speak.

dBase II actually doesn’t do these
things, and so, despite what it says on the
manual cover, is not a full relational data-
base. On the other hand, it beat the hell
out of the other products which were avail-
able at the time, for which we are all grate-
ful, and made a lot of things possible for a
lot of people that would not otherwise
have been possible. And, of course, it
allows the programmer to write systems
which appear to the user to be relational.

Technically speaking, a dBase II data-

base is not a database at all, It is only one
relation.

And so wecome toa product which does
follow the classical view of what consti-
tutes a relational database, and which
uses rather different terminology from
dBase to describe it.

R:base 4000 from Microrim is similar,
conceptually, to dBase. They both derive
from the relational model developed by E.
F. Codd at IBM, and the language they use
bears a similarity to SOL, IBM's Structured
Query Language, which has now been
adopted by the United States Department
of Defence as a standard.

But there the similarity ends. Unlike
dBase II, R:base was designed for the I6-
bit machine environment, and therefore
pays no heed to the limitations imposed
by the eight-bit CP/M environment. See
Table |, Database Specifications, for some
examples.

R:base is supplied in an attractive IBM-
style cloth-bound slipcase binder. The
main user's manual comprises sections on
database structure, data input, data in-
quiry, reports, data modification, relation-
al operators, transportability, and custo-
misation. This manual is augmented by a

tutorial manual and a demonstration dis-
kette which get the user started.

Different Terminology
R:base's terminology is likely to be the first
hurdle for those who have previously used
dBase I]. On the other hand, those who
have used ‘proper’ relational databases
are unlikely to have much difficulty, since
the terms used are generally the same as
those used by Codd in his original work.

To R:base, a database can comprise
multiple files, each of which is referred to
as a relation. Each relation comprises mul-
tiple attributes, which dBase users would
call fields, and spreadsheets users can
think of as columns. A set of attribute
values is a row (to dBasers, a record).

R:base is driven by a data dictionary
which defines the database, and which
contains considerably more information
than a dBase structure. Obviously it con-
tains the attribute definitions (names,
types, sizes), but it also holds password
information (owner password and relation
passwords), and the definitions of the rela-
tions which make up the database.

In setting up the data dictionary, the
user defines the attributes first, and then

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goes on to structure them into relations.
An important capability of R:base is pro-
vided by the ‘Rules’ entry during database
definition. This allows the database desig-
ner to specify validation rules for use dur-
ing data entry, based either on range or
other comparisons, or on validation
against another relation. For example, to
validate entry of postcodes, it would be
easiest to check an entered postcode
against a database of postcodes. The de-
signer can specify error messages to be
issued from invalid data.

Passwords can be set for both the owner
of the database and the users. User pass-
words can allow read-only access to a rela-
tion or can allow a user to modify a rela-
tion. In this way, for example, a personnel
database could be set up which allows the
personnel director overall access to the
database, his or her assistant access to
read and update only those relations
which detail positions held and review de-
tails, and which allows someone from
accounts, probably the paymaster, to read,
but not write, payroll data.

The database can be modified to add
attributes and relations, rename attributes
and relations and delete relations. Other
commands allow backup of the complete
database (remember it comprises multiple
files), as well as reloading. And, of course,
files can be indexed on some key value, to
provide faster access. Indexing uses a
rather different technique from dBase,
apparently maintaining the keys in the
main database, and requires only 12 bytes’
overhead for each row indexed, plus some
30 per cent overhead.

Entering Data
Presumably, after creating a database, you

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R:BASE

Maximum Relations (Files) Per Database: 40
Maximum Attributes (Fields) Per Database: 400
Maximum Row (Record) Size:
Maximum Rows Per Relation (Records Per File):
Maximum Rows (Records) Per Database:

Data Types:
Date
Time
Dollar
Integer
Real

1530 characters
2.5 billion
100 billion

-- Represented as MM/DD/YY or in any order you specify.
— HH:MM:SS, representing hours, minutes and seconds.
— Range of +,—$99,999,999,999,999.99

— Range of +,—999,999,999

— Range of 0 to +,—10 to the power 38 with 6-7 digit

accuracy in scientific or decimal point notation.

Text — | to 1530 characters

Command Line Input: 1600 characters maximum.

Table |. Database specifications

will next want to enter some data. This can
be done in three basic ways: straight data
entry, entry through screen forms, or if you
are converting an existing system to
R:base, by reading a data file.

The LOAD command allows data to be
entered into a relation by typing it across
the screen as though it were a BASIC data
file without the comma delimiters. Not an
appealing option. Alternatively, one attri-
bute can be entered right through a file,

then the next attribute, and so on, which is |

slightly better, Otherwise, LOAD WITH
PROMPTS can be used, which prompts
with the attribute name and type, simplify-
ing the process considerably.

After working this way for a while, you
will probably decide to design a screen
form for data entry. This is done using
R:base’s Forms Editor module, which
allows you to ‘paint’ the form on the

atin

screen, specifying the prompt text and en-
try locations for attributes. Once this has
been done, the ENTER <formname>
command will allow more sophisticated
data entry.

The forms entry mode is basically simi-
lar to that supported by dBase II] 2.4, with
full screen cursor movement and editing.
However, it also allows validation during
data entry, with the ability to display error
messages at the top of the screen. The
forms are simpler to use, if less versatile,
than dBase’s @ ... SAY .. GET format files.

The LOAD command comes into its own
when used to load data from a data file,
rather than from the keyboard. It basically
works with comma-delimited (BASIC) data
files. In addition, an audit trail is simple to
construct using the R:base ECHO.

Editing can be performed in a similar

way, using the Change and Assign com- >

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mands, or you can use interactive editing
with forms.

Inquiries
Inquiries on the database are phrased in
an SOQL-like syntax:

SELECT ALL FROM CUSTOMERS
WHERE BALANCE GT CLIMIT SORTED BY
BALANCE

The SELECT verh is the basic command
to list the contents of a relation, while
WHERE allows the use of conditions to
restrict the result, and SORT allows sorting
of the selected rows on up to 10 attributes.
SELECT prints the attribute names at the
top of its listing and may also take optional
arguments to specify totalling of fields and
restricted field widths.

With all these various options, the
SELECT command works out to be nearly
as powerful as the dBase REPORT com-
mand; the only thing it lacks is subtotall-
ing. The TALLY command calculates the

distribution of an attribute; in other words,

it reports how often a particular attribute
value occurs throughout the relation.
COMPUTE allows calculation of the mini-
mum, maximum, average, sum and count
of an attribute, or all of the above.

For more sophisticated reporting.
R:base does have a report writer which will
allow headers, footers, and more compli-
cated page layout than the SELECT com-
mand. Within a report, you can create upto
10 intermediate variables, which can be

PRODUCT DETAILS

Program: R:base 4000
Made by: Microrim
Useful for:

Hardware req'd:

R:BASE

With all its various
options, the SELECT
command works out to be
nearly as powerful as the
dBase REPORT
command, the only thing
it lacks is subtotalling.

used to calculate averages, subtotals, or
whatever.

Relational Commands
The key to R:base’s power lies in its rela-
tion commands: INTERSECT, UNION,
SUBTRACT, PROJECT, JOIN and APPEND.
These operate on entire relations at a time.

INTERSECT outputs a new relation
which contains those records which
appeared in both the input relations, while
SUBTRACT outputs those records which
do not appear in both relations (opposite
of INTERSECT). The UNION command
outputs all records from both inputs, with
duplicates eliminated. This command is
also used to add a new attribute to an
existing relation.

PROJECT is like SELECT, but with the
output going to a new database, rather
than the screen. Like SELECT, it supports

Data storage and handling facilities
256 Kbytes of memory, PC-DOS or MS-DOS (1.1 or higher),

CTOS (6.1 or higher), BTOS (6.f or higher)

Extras included: None
Options:
Price:

Review copy from:

PRODUCT DETAILS

Program:

Made by:

Useful for:
Hardware req'd:
Price:

Review copy from:

Clout
Microrim

5300

60

Clout and Report Generator

$630 for R:base and $205 for Report Generator
Imagineering, 579 Harris Street, Ultimo 2007; phone
(02) 212 1411

Natural language enquiry of databases
256 Kbytes of memory, R:base- developed databases

Imagineering, 579 Harris Street, Ultimo 2007; phone
(O2) 212 144}

the WHERE conditional argument and the
SORTED BY argument.

JOIN is similar to INTERSECT, but with
only a partial match required. It combines
rows from two relations, based on a match-
ing attribute they share. APPEND does
what it would suggest.

Like dBase, R:base is programmable,
although its language is not quite as rich,
supporting only the IF and WHILE com-
mands for flow control. One major restric-
tion is a prohibition on nesting WHILE
commands. However, menu-driven ap-
plications can be set up, and there is less
need to perform very low-level program-
ming than with dBase.

The construction of complex command
lines and unprompted procedures such as
database definition can often stymie the
first-time user. R:base gets around that
nicely with two extensions: Help and
Prompt modes. The Help system provides
assistance with R:base keywords and pro-
cedures. More powerful is the Prompt
mode, which prompts the user for input as
it constructs command lines.

All in all, R:-base emerges as a rather
more powerful database manager than
dBase Il. It is closer to being a true re-
lational database, although it still falls
short, but its input validation facilities and
richer set of relational commands make it
more powerful for applications of moder-
ate complexity. We also liked the password
facilities and prompt mode as particularly

APPEND
ASSIGN
BUILD
CHANGE
COMPUTE
DEFINE RBEDIT
DELETE REMOVE
DIR RELOAD
EDIT RENAME
ENTER REPORTS
EXIT SELECT

OPEN
OUTPUT
PRINT
PROJECT
PROMPT

FILLIN oET

FORMS SHOW
HELP SORTED BY
LF SUBTRACT
INPUT TALLY
[NTERSECT TYPE
JOIN UNION
LISTATT UNLOAD
USER
WHERE

NEWPAGE WHILE

Table 2. R:base commands

powerful extensions.

R:base’s major weaknesses are in report
generation and programming, but then,
Microrim has two more powerful versions
of R:base (5000 and 6000) to handle more
complex tasks. There is also an Extended
Report Writer available for R:base which
should easily correct any deficiencies in
the bare product.

CLOUT
A more interesting option for R:base ts
CLOUT, the Conversational Language
Optional Utility. This is a report program
which is based on artificial intelligence
techniques, and which allows natural-
language enquiry of the database.

The system is driven by a dictionary,
which starts off with a vocabulary of 300

ATTRIBUTE
BLANK
DOLLAR
DUPLICATE
ECHO

END

FORM
FORMING
FROM
HEADINGS
IN
INTEGER
KEY
LAYOUT
LIMIT

Table 3. R:base keywords

NOECHO
OWNER
PAGESIZE
PASSWORD
PRINTER
REAL
RELATION
RULES
TERMINAL

VARIABLE
WITH

R:BASE

CLOUT can give an eerie
impression that there’s
someone inside the
computer reading what
you type, rather than a
computer program.

commonly used words, and which the user
can extend by adding another 500 more
specialised words or phrases. CLOUT re-
sponds to command lines built up out of
these words.

CLOUT allows considerable latitude in
the input. For example, it will identify mis-
spellings, and rather than simply bundying
off, will respond by asking the user:

By ‘TRINING’ did you mean ‘TRAINING’?
(Y/N)

Similarly, punctuation is optional; the
system will request clarification if it must
resolve ambiguities. If the request con-
tains a word which has not previously been
defined, CLOUT wil] ask a series of ques-
tions to arrive at a definition, then pro-
ceed.

In the tutorial section of the manual, a
personnel database is used as an example.
Sample requests vary from the simple:

Show me a list of employees and when they were
hired.
through:

Which employees worked on which projects?
which displays only the attributes speci-
fied, to the multi-stage:

Who worked on telemetry and what was their
security? What were their last year's sales?

In this case, CLOUT knows the user is
referring to the previous question through
the presence of the word ‘their’.

Other words available include ‘rank’ and
‘sort’ for sorting, ‘group by’ and ‘broken
down by’ to allow headers or subtotalling,
‘except’, ‘between’, ‘how many’ and others.

While enquiries are typed in as text,
most other communication with CLOUT is
through a menu structure that allows the
user to add new words, delete them and
generally maintain the dictionary. A new
dictionary is set up for each database with
which CLOUT is used.

After some work in setting up the dic-
tionary for a database, CLOUT can give an
eerie impression that there's someone in-
side the computer reading what you type,
rather than a computer program. Of
course, occasionally it will fall over on
quite trivial requests, but after extending
the dictionary, all will be well with that and
related enquiries.

CLOUT is a very interesting product. It's
probably true to say that anyone who can
set up an R:base database and design in-
put validation, screens and reports would
not need CLOUT. However, less sophisti-
cated users would benefit from it. I'd be
interested to see CLOUT used. for exam-
ple, in a department store to list gift ideas
for shoppers. L

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OMNI-READER

OMNI-READER
Optical Character Reader

Have you ever thought how wonderful it would be if
your computer could simply read text into itself
without its having to be laboriously typed in?
Hardware that achieves this — called optical
character recognition equipment — has been around
in some applications for a while, but till now it's
never been available for micros. Frank Lee takes a
look at the first chink in the armour — the
Omni-Reader — which will at least read some things
directly into your trusty machine.

OPTICAL character recognition (OCR)
equipment has long been regarded as part
of the ethos of ‘heavy’ computing; large
organisations such as universities, banks,
credit unions and their ilk make heavy use
of OCR devices. These are generally heavy-
duty equipment capable of reading a wide
range of scripts (or fonts), including good-
quality handwritten manuscripts. OCR
has typically been an expensive operation,
since it relies on extensive research in the
area of artificial intelligence, and the
hitherto relatively few OCR users have had
to carry the cost of funding that research.
Oberon International's Omni-Reader is
a first entrant into low-cost OCR technolo-
gy, aimed at the high-volume micro-
computer market. The recommended retail
price of $1920 is about an order of magni-
tude smaller than other commercial read-
ers. Mind you, those readers go like a bul-
let, read pages automatically, and can
handle a wide range of materials in a varie-
ty of print qualities. The Omni-Reader
can’t quite do all this, but it’s a step in the
right direction. It has the potential to make
many microcomputer users reconsider
OCR as a viable proposition. Just think —
all those magazine listings of program
printouts; wouldn't it be nice to be able to
read them directly into your machine?
Well, as a matter of fact, | tried. Alas, it
didn’t work. The print quality was below
par. But despair not hope is on the

horizon. First, however, alittle background.

Testing it in Real Life

My interest in the Omni-Reader was kin-
died when a friend became involved in a
direct mailing exercise. He had contrived
to obtain a hard copy listing of his victims’
names and addresses, which he intended
to have typed up using a database system
so that labels could be printed as required.
The typing operation was horrendous:
there were thousands of names. However,
the print quality wasn’t too bad. It had
been generated on an IBM impact chain
printer of unknown vintage, but with a well
formed sans-serif typeface using ten char-
acters per inch. The folk at Audio En-
gineers felt there was a good chance the
Omni-Reader might cope with the job.
The Omni-Reader duly arrived in a large.
expansively illustrated cardboard box.
There emerged a deceptively simple-
looking flat-bed page holder with a hinged
system holding the sliding read head (see
illustration). Being technologically un-
couth, I ignored the intimidating docu-
mentation, and fitted together everything
which could fit into anything. By the time
I'd finished, there was a separate power
supply hooked between the mains power
and the reader, the sliding read head was
plugged into the socket at the rear of the

paper holder, and my IBM PC-compatible

serial port was connected to the reader's

Serial port using the cable normally re-
served for my modem.

You should understand that my testing
scenarios generally call for examination of
the documentation only after all else fails.
The multiplicity of documentary bits and
pieces with the Omni-Reader simply rein-
forced this view.

Naturally, it didn’t work. Let that be a
lesson, Frank.

You see, the Omni-Reader is a serial
device. As such, one must ensure that the
reading software on the host computer
matches the communications protocols of
the attached equipment. | had hoped it
would be possible to read the sample test
sheet (already in place on the plotter) us-
ing Wordstar, but for that there was no
short cut.

| reached for the small manual entitled
Omni-Reader Interface Guide. Oh woe! Ail that
technical stuff about RS232C protocols,
pin definitions and stuff. More about baud
rates and parity requirements. Lots on
what the Omni-Reader does with control
codes ([ don’t care, man, I just want to read
stuff!). Then finally a simple BASIC prog-
ram to read from the Omni-Reader and
display the data on the screen. Before
trying that, | discovered the rest of this
manual launches into interfacing techni-
ques forthe IBM PC, eight-bit systems run-
ning CP/M-80, the Apple Ile and IIc, the
Mac, the Lisa and the Victor/Sirius. These

63

OMNI-READER

people have done a thorough job, and tech-
nical information is there if you need it.

By now I5 minutes had elapsed since
the Box Opening. How much longer would
it take to see words appearing as if by
magic on the screen?

Not long, as it turned out.

Since I had specified to Audio Engineers
that | was testing it with an IBM PC (more
specifically my President 16-210 compati-
ble known locally here at Mount Crisis as
Ron), they also supplied a disk containing
the ‘Interface Software for the IBM PC’. The
disk was accompanied by two separate
documents. I guessed (correctly) that one
should read the one entitled How to Set Up
Your Omni-Reader Software on IBM PC, XT, AT
and PC Compatibles before opening the Inter-
face Software manual. Confusion would have
reigned supreme if the reverse order were
followed. In fact, | can’t see why the two
authors (clearly unknown to each other)
didn't choose to collaborate in the prepa-
ration of one straightforward manual.

| struggled through the installation of a
new DOS CONFIG.SYS file, and included
the driver OMNI.COM on my hard disk. |
also copied the RUN-WS.BAT file, which
contained the following two commands:

omnicon ws.omn

ws

The first command invokes a configura-
tion file WS.OMN, which specifies the
communications protocols required. |
didn’t have to do a thing apart from check-
ing the setting of the DIP switches on the
rear of the Omni-Reader.

.

Science and Typestyles
On power-up, the Omni-Reader is set to
comprehend a Courier 10 typeface. The
rear switches specified !0 characters to the
inch (10 pitch), and these conditions
matched the sample sheet mentioned
above. | ran the RUN-WS batch file, which
in turn called up Wordstar. I gave Wordstar
a command to begin editing a new file,
then slid the read head across a line of text.
After a short pause there was a single beep
(indicating a satisfactory read), then the
line popped up on the screen — just as
expected, Isn't science wonderful? At this
stage the elapsed time was 35 minutes
from Box Opening. Not too bad, I guess.
The Omni-Reader can at present cope
with four different fonts, namely Courier
10, Courier [2, Letter Gothic 12 and Pres-
tige Elite 12. These may be read at either
10 or 12 pitch, provided the reader's switch
is set accordingly. The default font (on

64

power-up) is Courier 10, but the others can
be selected by scanning a TYPEFACE com-
mand.

As a matter of fact, this is a cute feature
of the reader. A command is simply a word
preceded by two square black blobs. These
have been printed on the plotter, and may
be scanned as if they were text to be read.
The two blobs signal to the internal soft-
ware that these are commands to be
obeyed, rather than text to be transmitted.

The other printed commands are
LEARN, NEWLINE and NUMERIC. The
LEARN command gave me hope that we
could teach the reader how to understand
the line printer's font. No such luck, as
you'll see later.

The NEWLINE command toggles the
flag which tells the reader whether to send
a carriage return at the end of each line.
The default is no carriage return, so it's
normal to scan this command at the start
of a session. When active, a red LED glows
above the NEWLINE command.

The NUMERIC command speeds up the
recognition process when the data is
numeric or punctuation.

The LEARN command is un-
documented, so | rang the principals in
England to find out more. It seems one can
download a pattern recognition program
from the host computer into an ‘extra font’
RAM in the reader — but the reader isn’t
sufficiently sophisticated to learn a new
font by itself. The training is done on the
host computer using software not yet
available to users. The company plans to
distribute ‘extra font’ files by the end of the
year, but unfortunately, standard line prin-
ter output is not on the agenda.

Several other commands have been
printed for convenience in the O-R/I User
Manual. These include LARGE (for text
which is slightly oversized), SMALL (for
undersized text), POORCOPY (for poor-
quality text), and NORMAL (to return to
normal mode). Use of the POORCOPY
command roughly doubles the processing
time.

It just didn’t want to know ...

Alas, even with POORCOPY, the reader
wouldn't so much as sniff at the name and
address lists. Each time we tried to scan a
line, there would be a delay of a few
seconds, then a beep-beep signalling its
unhappiness with the text. This happened
even with good-quality photocopies which
increased the contrast. We discovered the
Omni-Reader also gets upset if the text is
proportionally spaced, or if not printed

OMNI-READER

You can download a
pattern recognition
program from the host
computer into an ‘extra
font’ RAM in the reader
— but the reader isn't
sufficiently sophisticated to
learn a new font by itself.

with a carbon ribbon.

I also tried it on text printed with the
excellent NDK 5025 ‘near letter-quality’
dot matrix printer, and the NEC Pinwriter
CP3. It couldn't read them either, although
it was almost impossible to tell the differ-
ence from real daisywheel output by visual
inspection. On the other hand it could
easily read any of the standard four fonts
printed on my Qume-compatible daisy-
wheel printer.

How It Works

The complete system occupies an area of
27 by 41 cm of desk space, and needs to be
right alongside your computer. Since | also
use a mouse, there was some competition
for real estate during the tests. A little
juggling of peripherals soon set things
shipshape.

The optical read head slides along a
clear plastic ruler, which in turn is able to
slide up and down the page on the flat bed
of the plotter. The material to be scanned
is held in position on the bed by two adhe-
sive strips, while the ruler is kept horizon-
tal by an adjustable hinge mechanism link-
ing it to a slide rod on the reader's left side.

The ruler carries an optical clock track
which the system uses to gauge both scan-
ning speed and direction, so the reader can
handle line scanning in either direction. A
three-position toggle switch on the read
head lets you signal the start of a line scan,
or the cancellation of a misread line.

To reada line, the ruler must be carefully
positioned over the line, the switch press-
ed to signal the start of a scan, then the
head slid across the line at about the
speed you would visually read the mate-
rial. If you scan too fast or too slow, there is
a visual/audible error indication. In prac-
tice, there is a wide tolerance for speed

variations.

After each line is scanned there is a
short processing pause followed by a sing-
le beep if the read is deemed correct; two
beeps are emitted if the reader has had
difficulty in reading. In the event of a single
beep, the line data is transmitted to Word-
star, exactly as if it had been typed via the
keyboard. This trick is performed by the
resident driver (OMNI.COM), which is
loaded with DOS.

You can accept a misread line simply by
reading the next line, and misread charac-
ters are replaced by question marks in the
text. It's good practice to check the text,
even if the all-clear single beep is given,
since sometimes it mistakes a ‘y’ for a‘v’ if
the descender isn’t fully visible through
the slot inthe ruler. (A longer ruler is avail-
able for use with documents which are too
wide to fit under the short standard ruler.)

Test Results

I tried the unit on a typical 124-word busi-
ness letter that had been typed on a good-
quality daisywheel printer. It took me 130
seconds to scan the document, giving a
total equivalent of 57 words per minute.
While this isn’t as good as many profes-
sional typists, it leaves my rate for dead.
Perhaps my speed would improve with
practice. On the other hand, there were
three errors undetected by the reader, and
their correction added significantly to the
overall processing time.

For each line scanned, there was a pro-
cessing pause of about three seconds,
making a total of 4.5 seconds to scan and
process a typical line of text. Another prob-
lem was the tendency of the text material
to slip from the adhesive strips, requiring
frequent realignment while reading.

For a situation where the required data
has been printed with a letter-quality prin-
ter, and if the data is not also available in
machine readable format, the Omni-
Reader should be considered as an
alternative to direct typing. However, the
machine is not a workhorse. The read head
and rule mechanism must be treated with
respect, and might not stand up to the
rigours of full-time work in an office en-
vironment. The Omni-Reader should prob-
ably be regarded as a tool for reading the
occasional material which would other-
wise be a pain in the neck to have retyped.

On the other hand, if Oberon were to
come good with a downloadable typeface
for the IBM 1403 line printer, then | would
certainly reconsider its use for the mailing
list job. OD

65

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MICROSOFT BASIC V2.0 AND
MACPASCAL INTERPRETERS — an

Evaluation

BY KAY FIELDEN

Undertaking a research project based on the Macintosh that requires substantial
programs to provide graphic interaction with users, plus the design of a help facility
based on menus, is no easy task. It was necessary first to evaluate the most
suitable programming tool — MacPascal or Microsoft BASIC V2.0. We thought
readers would be interested in the results of this comparison.

Both MacPascal and Microsoft BASIC are
menu-driven under mouse control; they
have good debugging facilities, excellent
text editors, and facilities supported with-
in the language for sub-programs, func-
tions, repetition and decision control.
Both also provide a good environment for
modular programming. The control struc-
tures of Pascal are a little better, but both
languages are easy to implement and pro-
vide clear code.

Neither fits in with the traditional view
of Pascal or BASIC. The most apparent
differences from these languages as we
know them are: the access to graphics faci-
lities via the Quickdraw ROM routines;
multiple windows during the running of a
program for text output, graphics output,
the program list and interpretive debug-
ging via the step function in Pascal; and
the absence of line numbers, the use of
non-numeric labels and the sub-program
facility with parameter passing in BASIC.

A deeper look at the languages shows

68

Figure I.

¢ adjective

jverb preposition process

1 paddock

fence
animal
tiger
elephant
pelican
qiatfe
COW

pig
kangaroo
peg
board
end

Ins

—
—

enterobjectives

they have different facilities to offer con-
cerning data structures, runtime facilities,
program units, management (mouse con-
trol, keyboard control, menu control, but-
ton control), graphics facilities, window
management, dialogue control, edit fields
and file access.

Data Structures
The data structures of Standard Pascal are
far superior to any BASIC; it’s always possi-
ble to model the real-world situation
closely with Pascal data structures be-
cause of their inherent flexibility. MacPas-
cal data structures are enhanced by adding
long integers, double-precision reals,
strings and handles to Standard Pascal.
(Handles are pointers to pointers used ex-
tensively for graphics manipulation, event
management and memory management.)
Microsoft BASIC V2.0 has only one struc-
tured data type — the array. This makes
manipulation of the data more cumber-
some, as well as creating data structures
which bear little relationship to the inhe-
rent structures of the problem at hand.
Consider, for example, the following
Pascal data structure:

type
basestructure = record
angie integer ,
vx, vy: integer ,
radius integer ;
maxcno : integer ;
connectedto : array{1..10] of integer ,
end;

MICROSOFT BASIC VS MACPASCAL

treenodetype = record
vertex : array[1..20] of basestructure;
maxvno : integer ;
downptr, rightptr, levelno : integer ;
end;

var

tree array[)..20} of treenodetype;

To represent these data structures in
BASIC one possibility is:

DEFINT n-t
DEFSTR fh

and drawing windows.

Program Units
The only units allowed on MacPascal are
the provided libraries or Quickdraw, and
program sizé is limited to 1000 lines (5120
words) — a séVere restriction on any ap-
plication being developed.

Microsoft BASIC V2.0 allows programs
to be chained. The calling program can
chain part or all of a program, and can

DIM nodevertexangle(20,20), nodevertexx(20;20), nodevertexy(20,20),
noderadius(20,20), nodemaxcno(20,20), nodeconnectedto(20,20, 10),
nodevertexno(20), noderightptr(20), nodeleftptr(20), nodeprevptr(20),
nodeheadptr{ 20), nodedeviatemoves(20), hints(20,3), nodemaxhintno(20),

nodeonsolnpath(20)

Pascal seems to represent the real-
world structure more closely and enables
less cumibersome processing.

Runtime Facilities

MacPascal always gives three windows
when you open the file: the program list-
ing, a text window and a graphics window.
When ‘Run’ is selected from the menu the
window arrangement can be changed
under program control.

However, BASIC V2.0 throws up the run-
time window as soon as a program file is
opened if the file has been saved in com-
pressed form — a decided advantage in
writing applications on the Macintosh.
BASIC doesn't differentiate between text

overlay chained units to conserve memory
space.

Event Management

Limited event management is possible in
MacPascal, but can be extended by calling
the in-line routines, which call on the ROM
toolbox traps. Their use is unsupported
within Pascal, and the documentation de-
scribing the use of these routines comes
with the dire message “WARNING — Using
this facility carelessly or erroneously can
be fatal to your disk or data.”

This is certainly the case; an error ina
toolbox call at the very least usually results
in the loss of the current workfile and at
worst corrupts the system disk. When the
toolbox calls are invoked all type checking >

Listing |
GOSUB setupmenus

Sse Cupmenus
MENU |,0,1,"adjective”
MENU 2,0,1,"noun’
MENU 3,0,1,°verb"
MENU 4,0.1,"preposition™
MENU 5,0,1,"process”

MENU 2,1,3, “paddock”
MENU 2,2,1,"fence”

MENU 5S,2,1,"Quit process”
RETURN

ON MENU GOSUB menucheck

menucheck
menunumber » MENU (0)

ON menunumber GOSUB processad)j,processnoun,processverb,

RETURN
processad)

processprep,processcontrol

adjmenujitem - MENU(})
FOR | = | TO adjmenuitem

NEXT i
RETURN
processnoun:
processverb:
processprep.
processcontrol:

‘enter appropriate action

controlmenuitem = MENU(S)
ON controlmenuitem GOSUB enterob jective quitproce::.

RETURN

enterob jective

quitprocess

‘enter appropriate action

‘enter appropriate attion

69

MICROSOFT BASIC VS MACPASCAL

and parameter checking are disabled.

In Microsoft BASIC V2.0 extensive event
management is provided and supported
within the language. There is program con-
trol over the mouse, the menu, the
keyboard, dialogue boxes and button con-
trol. (See Listing | for an example of a
typical code to set up and trap menu
queries in BASIC. Figure 1 shows what
appears when this code is run.)

Pascal requires approximately twice as
much code as BASIC. This code isn’t as
straightforward and is further complicated
by the use of frequent calls to in-line func-
tions, which are unsupported within Pas-
cal. The BASIC event handling is clearer
because the constructs are inherently sim-
pler, and it’s more reliable because it is
supported within the language.

Graphic Facilities

MacPasca! has an extensive Quickdraw lib-
rary which allows graphic manipulation of
complex graphic functions. The fun-
damental unit is a rectangle defined by the
top left and bottom right co-ordinates. All
graphic objects (except line and point)
have a rectangle associated with them.

Besides allowing you to draw the object
on the screen, there is also a collection of
routines which manipulate these objects
mathematically within Pascal. However, it
appears there are still many bugs within
the Quickdraw library.

Microsoft BASIC V2.0 has limited access
to the Quickdraw library; there is support
for the screen drawing facilities with the
simpler objects such as points, lines, rec-
tangles, ovals, arcs and polygons. Pascal
allows regions and pictures as well, while
BASIC doesn’t have any of these mathema-
tical routines.

Microsoft BASIC V2.0 also has its own
graphic routines, such as CLS, PICTURE
and LINE. PICTURE is analogous to the
‘region’ of Pascal, although it is limited in
its manipulation.

In BASIC it’s possible to dump the
screen to the printer using LCOPY. Figure 2
shows a sample screen dump.

This operation is more cumbersome in
Pascal. The picture can be saved using
Savedrawing (‘name of drawing’), which is
accessible via MacPaint by opening Mac-
Paint, closing the file, then selecting ‘open’
from the file menu. This throws up a dia-
logue box from which you can select the
file saved with Savedrawing. It's then
possible to dump the screen output to the
printer.

It's also possible to access ROM
routines for graphics with the in-line

70

routines via Pascal. At present this doesn’t
seem possible with BASIC.

Window Management

Window management, like menu manage-
ment, is very simple in Microsoft BASIC.
The constructs supplied within the lan-
guage are straightforward and easy to use,
and it’s possible to declare up to four out-
put windows and transfer control between
them. For example, the sequence below
sets up an output window in BASIC.

Dialogue Box Control

Dialogue boxes can be set up within BASIC
using a combination of windows, buttons
and edit fields. These can then be interro-
gated by using ON DIALOG with a selec-
tion of actions, such as in Figure 3, de-
pending on the state of the window, but-
tons, edit fields and so forth.

The only way to set up dialogue boxes in
Pascal is via the Toolbox routines, which
have the same problems as the other Tool-
box routines.

WINDOW },"name of output window 1°,(S,170)-(250,280), |

WINDOW OUTPUT |

‘directs output to window |

‘any screen output will appear on this window

WINDOW CLOSE |
WINDOW OUTPUT 2
2

Window manipulation is possible in
Pascal via the Toolbox routines but, like
the menu routines, they are very cumber-
some. One advantage of BASIC is it doesn't
differentiate between a text window and a
drawing window as Pascal does; it isn’t
possible to show text input on the drawing
window in Pascal directly. Often only one
window.and text input is required; because
BASIC doesn’t differentiate, this problem
is non-existent.

Figure 2.

=L |

any further output will be directed to window

Edit Fields

Only BASIC has the facility to set up aform
on the screen via its edit fields. Data can
then be entered in any order on the screen
and corrected.and deleted, unti! the screen
is fit to send to the appropriate process or
file, Pascal doesn’t offer this feature.

File Access

MacPascal allows sequential files access
to textfiles and files of records. It has li-
mited facilities to look at specific compo-

output a picture

MICROSOFT BASIC VS MACPASCAL

nents within a file by the use of ‘seek’ and
‘filepos’.

Microsoft BASIC allows sequential and
random file access, Numeric fields within a
random file must first be converted to
strings with the functions MKIS, MKSS and
MKDS to be stored on file, then recon-

Figure 3.
Walid objective

verted to the appropriate numeric value
with CVI, CVS or CVD on retrieval from a
random file.

Conclusions
After evaluating Microsoft BASIC and Mac-

({ lindicates opt

[ladjectivelnoun|yertiladyvert)[prepusitionjladjectivelnoun

2 enter objectives

(Pee COR eon en ciaterl ira

You have a choice of drawing tools: pencil,

brush, spray-can, fill can, eraser.
Draw points, lines, boxes, elipses or
handcrafted drawings.

User-definable patterns -— defined areas may
be filled or you may brush them on. Text and

graphics can be combined; perfect for
overhead projector artwork, etc.

“Cut & Paste” facility. Define your own icons

and copy them.

Zoom editing — allows you to edit your art in

fine detail.

Pictures can be saved on or retrieved fram

disk, or printed out.

BEESLIDE - a variable speed slide-show

package; user defined order and files.

Min. Requirements: 32k Micrabee, CP/M,

1 disk drive (40 track DSDD], Epson
compatible printer [option).

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Pascal for our research project, we cameto
the conclusion that Microsoft BASIC has
more to offer for development of such ap-
plications, although it's restricted in its
use of the Toolbox and has less to offer
with respect to data structures, dynamic
variables and block structuring within the
language. The Toolbox ROM routines
aren't supported within MacPascal and
attempts to use them can cause a lot of
damage; and when a researcher or prog-
rammer is new to a system, these routines
will inevitably be used incorrectly.

The use of pulldown menus, dialogue
boxes, buttons, edit fields and windows
(all of which are supported within Micro-
soft BASIC), together with the ability to
emulate a turnkey system, offers a better
application development environment.
BASIC also offers the ability to chain prog-
rams, and to load and execute one prog-
ram from within another.

Microsoft BASIC'S sophisticated
approach to providing a friendly user inter-
face was the final deciding factor in this
project. O

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7

SON OF

ZARDAX

With sales of the Zardax | word processor breaking
the 8000 mark worldwide, Computer Solutions has
now come up with some stiff competition for
Appleworks: the ProDOS-based Zardax WPII.
Richard Walding, who assisted in the pre-release
trialling of the new Zardax, puts it through its paces.

ZARDAX WPIl is more than just a ProDOS
version of the original Zardax word proces-
sing program; while the philosophy be-
hind it may be the same, the procedures
and processes are different.

The father of Zardax, lan Phillips, once
described his major aim in developing a
word processing package as “keeping it
simple” (Your Computer, Jan 1985). He has
stuck to his guns with the WPI, andit’s still
user-friendly and abounding with features.

Zardax | was written in BASIC and
Assembler, while the new Zardax WPIl has
been written mostly in C. It occupies 70
Kbytes of disk space and requires a 128
Kbyte Apple lic or Ile with extended 80-
column card to run it.

72

Up And Running
At start-up, Zardax WPII will ask for the

current time, unless the clock card is pre-
sent, in which case the time will be display-

ed automatically. While Zardax | opened
with a menu, Zardax WPII takes you
straight into a new document. Hit Escape
and you move into the main menu where
Video {which shows you what the format-
ted document will look like when printed),
Save, Rename and Write (for writing a
‘videoprint' image to file) are found. There
are also the commands Info (reports mem-
ory usage), File (selects the file menu), Edit
(edit menu), Print (print menu) and List
{list menu).

Pressing Escape takes you back to the
document in memory rather than to the

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main menu, which can bea bit unnerving if
you're used to Zardax I, but after a while
you realise it saves keystrokes.

® The File Menu: has the commands In-
sert (a file from the disk), Rename, De-
lete, Lock, Unlock, New (select an ex-
isting document or list or create one),
Format (profile hard disk or floppy),
Make {a subdirectory), Gloss (load a
Glossary file), Copy, Volume {select a
drive) and Quit.

@ The Edit Menu: inspired by the Apple
Lisa, this menu has four options and is
used to contro! a clipboard. The clip-
board is a temporary storage space
used for removing text from a document
by cutting. Items in the clipboard can be
placed in a document using a paste
command, which won't alter the clip-
board contents. It's also possible to
save a copy of the clipboard to disk.

Keyboard editing is extensive: Zardax
WPI! has a search facility as well as
search and replace.

If a range of documents requires the
same formats, the Glossary feature
allows the entire format to be prede-
fined and stored as a file, which is called
up at the beginning of each new docu-
ment. Documents can also contain
commentary text for the author and
operator, which is not printed. The Glos-
sary is a file of up to 26 items which
contains several lines of text and print
start-up. Other Glossary files may be
stored on disk and swapped for the
start-up version using the file menu.

@ The Print Menu: Zardax WPIl can use a

variety of printers by selecting an
appropriate printer parameter (from the
print rhenu) from those supplied with
the package.

® The List Menu: a list of file managers
such as names, addresses and tele-
phone numbers. Up to 1000 records can
be created, sorted, displayed, edited
and merged with a document.

Formatting

The extensive print formatting commands
are similar to those in Zardax |, with some
name changes and additions. Commands
are embedded into the text with a control
A, and you can specify font, colour and
country character set. All the old com-
mands remain: headers, footers, justifica-
tion, proportional spacing, indentation,
margins, tabbing, page length, centring,
pitch, line spacing, sub/superscripts, ita-
lics, bold, underline and condensed (now
called ‘thin’).

The Bad Points

Zardax requires the entire document to be
resident in memory, so large documents
have to be made up of several smaller ones
linked together with the Queue Link com-
mand. The Queue Link maintains page

aaesliebinmiapinici oe suiaatniiniaicnns

hese ess ite

LIKE NO C THER MODE

ZARDAX

The extensive print
formatting commands are
similar to those in Zardax

I, with some name

changes and additions.
Commands are embedded
into the text with a control
A, and you can specify
font, colour and country
character set.

numbering, but not headers, footers or the
initial formatting commands; and it
doesn't enable you to skip from one point
to the other while editing.

A utility program, WP2.CONVERT (on
WP.TOOLS disk), converts documents pre-

LL. CaM Laat one oe aa :

ater ee ee pedact, heat

pared under Zardax I to a form which can
be used by Zardax WPII. However, as the
manual points out, it’s not [00 per cent
foolproof: it won't convert any of the old Z
commands such as Bold, Italics and Con-
densed; it fails to turn off a subscript or
superscript with some printers; and it
doesn't account for the fact that the old
default left margin was zero while the new
one is 10.

The original Zardax Draft command,
which lets the user print a copy of the
document in memory without having to
save first, and the Index command, which
prints out the names of all the textfiles on
disk, are missing; and because printing is
done from a disk file rather than from
memory, the keyboard can't be used dur-
ing printing.

Upgrading

Upgrading Zardax | to WPII will cost $100,
including the disks (original plus backup),
manual and WP2.TOOLS disk. You're given
a dual licence and keep the Zardax |
package. At this price it’s a bargain. O

Di

iewhel &

LA Pe. EP oe HT

ees mo

eee TM
The Tulpi INTELLIGENT MODEM

Tulpi” is a state of the art microprocessor controlled, Intelligent Modem

Tulpi incorporates all of the necessary features for users of videotex and standard databases.

m Automatic dialling, pulse and tone.

m@ Self contained communications
firmware. Integrated command structure
allows the user to set mode, baud rate and
data format. Line side and user side
configurations may be independent.

m@ Automatic answering featuring our
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m Universal speed up buffering and bit
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This enables all PCs and ‘Dumb Terminals’ to

access Viatel without the need for bit rate
convertors.

w@ Exclusive Longline” circuitry maximizes

the integrity of data in country areas where
the Telecom lines are long and often noisy.

This also improves noisy city exchanges too.
m@ V21 and V23 modes 1 and 2 connection

optimised to Australian Telecom’s protocol.
Also Bell 202.

m@ No Switches. All of Tulpi’s commands
are accessable from the terminal devices
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m@ Automatic powerup default

configuration for virtually unlimited system

flexibility in private line, exchange line or
direct wired environments.

Mi 8K PROM and 16K RAM (optional) for
industrial process control and surveillance

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W@ 8085 processor.

For further information and the name of
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Dealer and O.E.M.
enquiries welcome.

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By the time a
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TOSHIBA 1500

Our most compatible
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NOT SO LONG AGO | reviewed the T1500'S
little brother, the Toshiba T1100. This was
a lightweight, battery-operated portable
computer with a full 25-line liquid crystal
display and very good IBM PC compatibil-
ity. The | [00 scored well in the evaluation,
as does the T1500, with one misgiving —
price. It's not cheap, but the value-for-
money ratio isn’t bad. As you'll see, this
machine has class and character, as well as
excellent compatibility.

Although PC compatibles are relatively
popular in Australia, the [BM PC itself still
has the lion’s share of the market. The IBM
package is generally more expensive, but
there’s more to the ‘real thing’ than just
the IBM logo. In particular, IBM's support
structure in the areas of technical advice,
servicing and education are its major
advantages. These ‘intangibles’ often
swing buyers, particularly those of acorpo-
rate nature, towards Big Blue.

To wander with an open cheque book in
clone jungle is another matter altogether.
This is no playground for the naive. There
are prizes, but you may find yourself sur-

rounded by less than helpfu] denizens of

its dark recesses. You'll need to arm your-
self with a heavy dose of self-education
and acquire a taste for adventure. The less
adventure you seek, the higher the price
you pay up front.

There are also intangible components of
that price. What happens if the company
manufacturing or importing the compati-
ble goes under? Is there a capable. fully
equipped service and maintenance team?
Is the company committed to the product?
Can it provide hands-on education?

This is an area in which a large organisa-

76

TOSHIBA 1500

It's not cheap, but the
value-for-money ratio isn't
bad. As you'll see, this
machine has class and
character, as well as
excellent compatibility.

tion such as Toshiba can offer more than

its smaller competitors. Its size is a major
advantage, although it is microscopic in
comparison with IBM.

I think I'm in danger-of being type-cast
as an evaluator of IBM compatibles. What
a fate! It’s a bit like being one of the judges
on New Faces — you're always in danger of
getting egg on your own face.

in past months quite a few clones have
passed through the portals of Mount Cri-
sis. Some have even stayed to dinner and
become members of the family.

I've explained my. philosophy on clone
evaluation in previous articles. Briefly,
there are levels of compatibility. At the
highest.level you should be able to run all
the popular programs written specifically
for the IBM PC, with the exception of those
which make (improper) use of the PC's
ROM code by directly addressing that
code. The machine must also be capable of
expansion, using boards designed for use
ona PC. In many cases, the haraware com-
patibility isn't a significant issue.

The Toshiba T1500 is about as compati-

ble as you can get without infringing copy-
right. For starters, it runs that test par excell-
ence — the Microsoft Flight Simulator. But
first .

Pre-power-up Observations

The T1500 is conventionally but soundly
packaged and presented. It comes in three
boxes: the main unit, the keyboard and a
monitor. A smaller box contains the ‘sys-
tem kit’, consisting of the three manuals
and two floppy disks. It astounds me that
this is sold as an optional extra, since the
machine does absolutely nothing without
MS-DOS. No doubt it could be obtained
from a third party, but not so the TI500
manual. Furthermore, the price of the sys-
tem kit is $95 — quite a lot to pay for three
unbound books and two floppies.

The system sent to us for evaluation
contained one Toshiba half-height floppy
disk drive, an NEC half-height 10 Mbyte
hard disk and 128 Kbytes of memory. The
side mounting of the additional cards and
the side-by-side positioning of the two
drives give the unit a shallower, cleaner
look; it measures 45 cm by 36 cm, is 10cm
high and weighs in at just on 10 kg.

Removing the outer case merely re-
quires a screwdriver. Sans case, the unit
presents as an extremely well-designed
machine. The front escutcheon looks great,
and so does the Toshiba RGB monitor
mounted on its tilt-and-swivel base.

The inside of the box is an electronics
engineer's joy. It’s mechanically solid, neat
and carefully planned, There's a large sys-
tem board covering roughly two thirds of
the floor area, and asmall extension board
carrying the standard IBM slots is

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77

mounted vertically to the system board,
supporting up to three additional plug-in
cards which mount sideways. One slot was
used by the hard disk controller.

Fortunately you're not likely to need
more than the spare two slots; there's
quite a bit packed into the system board.
You can see at least one PLA (programmed
logic array) on the system board, indicat-
ing there's been a considerable reduction
in the chip count. One empty chip socket is
reserved for the optional 8087 maths co-
processor. Sadly, there's no on-board provi-
sion for a battery-backed calendar clock
chip, and neither is there a ‘hard’ reset
switch. You really do need a reset switch,
even though there's none on the [BM PC,
as sometimes the ‘soft’ reset method
(pressing the Alt-Ctrl-Del keys together)
just doesn’t work, forcing you to do a
momentary power-down.

System board features more frequently
found on plug-in cards in other computers
include the RGB monitor logic, LCD logic,
parallel port and RAM capacity up to 640
Kbytes. Options requiring slots include a
medium-resolution monochrome display
adaptor (for the [BM monochrome display)
and an asynchronous communications
adaptor (serial port). It's a pity the latter is
only an option when you consider the cur-
rent interest in communications.

All the slots are compatible with [BM
cards. Placement of the card system has
borne in mind the need for effective venti-
lation; a quiet fan in the 150 watt power
supply cools both the supply and the heat-
generating components of the machine.

The Toshiba half-height floppy disk
drive is quiet, and judging from the clicks it
has. a head-lift solenoid. When the drive is
selected, the printed circuit motor spins
and the read/write head is brought into
contact with the spinning disk surface. Un-
fortunately, not too many half-height
drives have this excellent feature, leaving
them prone to writing accidental data in
the event of a power glitch.

Another nice feature of the floppy disk
drive is an external slide switch which
effectively write-protects the disk. It’s a
kind of additional insurance policy.

The Toshiba-manufactured keyboard
follows pretty much the same layout as the
[BM PC. It's IBM plug-compatible, has tilt-
ing legs for adjusting the angle, and fea-
tures two LEDs which indicate the status
of the Caps Lock and Num Lock keys. The
feel is a bit soft, and there's no special

acoustic or tactile feedback. | still prefer

the feel of the Keytronics board, which has
78

TOSHIBA 1500

| think I'm in danger of
being type-cast as an
evaluator of IBM
compatibles. What a fate!
It's a bit like being one of
the judges on New
Faces — you're always

in danger of getting
egg on your own face.

a bump in the resistance force at the point
where the key data has been transmitted.
Nonetheless, the Toshiba keyboard would
be adequate for even a fussy typist.

The monitor supplied with the system
was an RGBI-type, with excellent resolu-
tion, a tilt/pan base assembly and a sepa-
rate cable to link it with the RGB output
socket. As there's no power socket on the
rear of the T1500, you'll need a second
outlet for the monitor. You can also use a
composite colour or monochrome moni-
tor with the separate socket for composite
video (NTSC). The monitor connections
are all standard IBM. Although it wasn't
provided for evaluation, ] understand you
can also use a flat-screen 25-line LCD as
a substitute for the conventional
monochrome or RGB monitors. This could
be an interesting alternative, as it would
significantly reduce the overall weight of
the system and make it much easier to
transport. | suspect the LCD screen is the
same as the one used in the portable
TL 100.

Documentation and
System Software
The documentation provided with the sys-
tem kit consists of three shrink-wrapped
manuals pre-punched for a three-ring bin-
der which measure 14 cm by 22 cm. You'll
need to provide your own binders unless
you're happy with the thinly glued spine.
Two of the manuals are more or less of
Microsoft origin. These are the BASIC Re-
ference Manual and the MS-DOS Refer-
ence Mariual. No surprises here. A thinner
Owner's Manual (131 pages) covers setting
up the computer, initial operation, trou-
ble-shooting, introduction to MS-DOS and
how to install the options It's written with
a tinge of Jinglish. and while adequate for

the average user, this isn't intended as a ¢
complete technical manual.

Two floppy disks are supplied with the
system kit. One is the ‘system disk’, con-
taining MS-DOS 2.1 and BASIC 1.1. Apart
from the normally supplied DOS utilities
there’s a VDISK.SYS which allows you to
nominate a RAM disk size via your CON-'
FIG.SYS file. This can be a real bonus if you
have scads of RAM and a variety of direc-
tories scattered around.

The second disk is labelled ‘Diagnos-
tics’, and includes an AUTOEXEC.BAT file
which invokes a general-purpose diagnos-
tic program. I've seen this program before
in slightly differing guises; it includes utili-
ties for formatting and parking the hard
disk.

Power-on Tests

The T1500 is not a quiet machine. The fan
generates a fair bit of noise, but it certainly
isn’t objectionable.

| tried the various diagnostic routines,
and in the process formatted the hard disk
and set it to auto-boot DOS on power-up. |
copied the whole system and diagnostic
disk contents to the hard disk, and it work-
ed just fine. |

The first test was to run the Microsoft
Flight Simulator, which flew like a bird. In
fact, | had no problems with any of the
usual packages, which included Open Ac-
cess, Wordstar, Lotus 1-2-3 and Sidekick.

My standard prime number crunching
benchmark program compiled and ex-
ecuted in the same time as the [BM PC/XT,
but the T1500 has a very slight edge in hard
disk-dominated activities.

Each clone supplier is required to make
minor modifications to Microsoft BASIC in
order for it to run in the machine's environ-
ment. Sometimes this involves the omis-
sion of certain functions; in the [500’s case
| couldn't find any shortcomings or
oddball behaviour patterns.

[found the sameset of utilities that were
included with the smaller T1100. In par-
ticular, the RAM disk utility VDISK is a
great asset; frankly, | now couldn't cope
without a similar utility on Ron (my Presi-
dent 16-210). With a total of 512 Kbytes, |
allocate just enough RAM disk space to
hold the three main Wordstar files and
BASICA. These files reside on ‘drive’ D after
being copied there by an AUTOEXEC. BAT
startup file. By having Wordstar there, |
don't need to have copies of that program
in each subdirectory from which | need
services. Instead, | leave a short file,
W.BAT, in the root directory of the hard

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disk (C), which contains the following:

D:

WS C:%l

Cc:

To edit a file in a subdirectory, | just
enter that directory (with the CD com-

TOSHIBA 1500

|. Two floppy disk drives and monochrome
screen: $3950. As (1), but substitute a hard
disk for one floppy: $6150. System kit: $95.

To find out the cost of a system with an
RGB monitor, deduct the cost of the
monochrome monitor ($552) and add the

cost of the RGB monitor ($1150). Told you
they weren't cheap.

Worst point: Pricing (unbundled necessi-
ties)

Best points: Engineering quality, level of
compatibility, slim lines. C

mand), then use ‘W’ instead of ‘WS’. After
leaving Wordstar, the batch file logs back
into the subdirectory.

RATINGS:

VALUE FOR MONE’ ee

POOR GOOD V.GOOD EXCELLENT

Conclusions

The T1500 is an elegant piece of hardware,
but it isn’t cheap. On the other hand, the
machine is superbly designed and con-
structed, and that kind of engineering does
not come lightly. Unfortunately, the prices
are boosted by the price of the monitors. I
understand Toshiba (Australia) is examin-
ing the possibility of finding an alternative
source for monitors in order to redress the

SUPPORT == 2S wi Se eee
problem. Intending purchasers might well

be advised to check first to see if they really
need the Toshiba monitor, or if they could EASE OF SERVICING
do better from another supplier. The moni-
tors are strictly IBM PC compatible.

Here are the current prices for some
sample 128 Kbyte configurations:

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8!

Introducing ae Sinclair 1
A Quantum Leap

in: i Busine a NS a

ie rae Nae

ate

In today’s Sisiaae SS
world, just Keeping a step
ahead is often not enough.

business computers but

quite literally a quantum
leap in terms of design,

sit ofl And the QLi is
designed to work so simply
that you can start using

The difference between | capacity and price. it ae Within
success and failure can This is a machine that _ minutes the
depend upon your ability | will keep you current for | QI can be
to see far into the future, years to come. i fully
to anticipate needs and The Sinclair opera-
calculate costs. That's why | QLis | . tional,
the personal computer has . eS making
become one of the most _ valuable
important tools in - contributions to
business. A os - = your business. Yet dont
good one | be fooled.
can help — Even the most demand-
you under-— ing users will probably
stand what It combines never fully tax its capacity.
lies ahead. | Fa 32-bit processing But the Sinclair QLs

But personal — ’ capability with 128 K’s of | most impressive leap is
computers having 3 RAM. And QL hasawide | its price.
the capacity to really help | range of available soft- For the first time ever,
have two major drawbacks. | ware programming. In you can Own a personal

They costa fortune and | fact, over $1000 worth of computer that will take
usually are so complex to | these programmes are you well into the future
operate that weeks and included free within each | for under $1000.
even months of study are package to get you oo Why just take a step
required before they can started—wordg aS wz, When you can
become functional. processing, OL make a quantum

No longer. financial _- \ leap?

Now theres the Sinclair | models, Sinclair The Sinclair QL.
QL (Quantum Leap). It’s graphics and . More than
not just the next step in information a step ahead.

] want PS make a quantum rea Please send more information on the Sinclair QL.

Postcode

Address
Occupation

Phone

Sanclair QL is distributed by: TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION OF AUSTRALIA PTY. LTD.
8/303 Pacific Highway, Lindfield, NSW. 2070 Tele (02) 46 4374.
2M20048

IN AUGUST WE looked at the overall struc-
ture of Enable, and in particular its word
processor function. This month we ex-
amine the remaining integrated functions
and spreadsheet, database management
system, graphics and telecommunica-
tions.

More Printer Problems

Last time I noted a problem with selecting
a Qume Sprint-compatible printer for word
processor output. The distributors have
since advised me that the problem was in
my printer — had I used a ‘real’ Qume, it
would have worked. Well, we tried again,
this time with the up-market NDK Printstar
5025 Qume-compatible. Briefly, it too fell
over. | suspect the Enable printer profile
has a problem, but time will tell.

Spreadsheet/Graphics

For anyone with some experience with
spreadsheets, Enable is particularly easy
to learn and use. There is a built-in tutorial
covering the essentials of spreadsheets,
another on more advanced topics, and a
third showing how to create graphics from
spreadsheet data.

The ‘key’ to this system is literally the
FLO key. It throws up a ‘top line’ root menu
from which one can perform all the neces-
sary commands. Each command has a de-
scriptive comment which is displayed on
the second line. Arrow keys are used to
move through a horizontal menu. A high-
lighted item is selected by pressing the
Enter key; you can also select by typing the
first letter of the command. (Essentially
the same technique introduced with Lotus
[-2-3.)

The only problem encountered was a
system hang-up when I tried to save a 40 by
250-cell spreadsheet. Although my Presi-
dent has 512 Kbytes of RAM and a hard
disk, it quietly fell over. It may have
bumped into Sidekick in the top of the
RAM, but the test wasn't repeated — it's a
bit scary to hear one’s hard disk clunking
away in an attempt to save Mbytes of data!

The Enable tutorial focuses on the
promotional expenses of a fictitious tour-
ist agency. Although I’m not a regular
spreadsheet user, it took little effort to
start using the system to develop my own
simple example and graphs.

Graphs may be displayed on the screen
or printed (if your equipment is up to
graphics). 1 discovered that my default pro-

ENABLE

ENABLE

Frank Lee concludes his
evaluation of the Software
Group’s integrated
do-it-all addition to the
Lotus Garden.

file was specifying a Qume Sprint 5 printer
after Enable complained that my printer
was unable to generate a graph. A few
moments were sufficient to modify the
profile for the NDK printer (at present on
loan for review). This time | specified an
IBM graphics printer, and the results were

excellent. Figure | shows one of the graphs
created during the tutorial; note the varie-
ty of print fonts. A broad range of fontsand
shadings is selectable from submenus.

The graph shown here is an example ofa
3D side-by-side format. The columns can
also be stacked vertically, and reduced to
2D format if desired. Other formats include
pie-chart and line graph.

The X-axis labels were lifted directly
from entries in the spreadsheet.

As with most other spreadsheets, you
can also utilise ‘expert’ commands instead
of using the menu selection process.

Enable supports a maximum of 255 rows
and 255 columns, although only a por-
tion of this spreadsheet is shown at any
time. You can ‘navigate’ through a spread-
sheet rapidly (by nominating the required »

oe
=;

ENABLE

Promotion Expenditure

, Bs Dollars
in Number

cell co-ordinates) or cell by cell (using the
arrow keys). The windowing system lets
you examine two separate areas of your
spreadsheet using either a horizontal or
vertical split-screen system. A rather nice
feature is the ability to synchronise the
scrolling movements of one window with
the other.

The Enable spreadsheet can be saved in
any of the following formats: Enable, Lotus
|-2-3, Visicalc or DIF. There is also the
option of saving only the values and labels
(excluding the formulae} to save disk
space.

It is also possible to create a graph from
data in a separate database file while still
within the spreadsheet. This is just a mat-
ter of following the menu options.

The Database System

The database system is also reached from
the main menu. Since the whole business
of setting up a database and designing
input forms is menu-driven, it wasa simple
matter to create and test a small indexed

Montreal rlonda

New York

database. There is also a relatively primi-
tive report language, which may be used to
write macros. This language fails short of
dBase II, but should prove useful in the
majority of straightforward cases.

As part of the establishment of a new
database, you can specify a related input
form using an elegant screen design pro-
cess. In essence, you use the usual word
processing commands to create text on
the screen, but whenever the shifted F9 key
is pressed, the system creates an input
field at the current cursor position, then
asks appropriate questions about the field
concerned, The same technique allows an
input form to be updated as needed.

To an established user of more sophisti-
cated database management systems
(such as MDBS and Total}, this particular
system seems a bit primitive, but then it
wasn't designed for sophisticated applica-
tions. It would meet the data handling de-
mands of most users, without the need for
extensive training in database principles.

You can nominate the minimum and
maximum reasonable values and lengths
of field items when creating a new data-
base, and alsu specify error messages to be
displayed in the case of invalid data being
entered.

The release examined has a limit of
eight indexes per database file, and a max-
imum of 32 fields per record.

As with the spreadsheet system, you can
also create graphs from data in the data-

oa

Figure |.

base. The techniques are essentially the
same in both cases

Telecom munications

The ‘Telecom’ system allows you to nomin-
ate a stored ‘setup’ file to specify com-
munication parameters, phone numbers,
initial responses, and so on. It has a menu-
driven system for madifying existing setup
files or creating new ones. {t allows a max-
imum of 64 sucli liles. As an alternative,
you can use a ‘qtick’ setup which requires

you to nominate the minimum parameters
needed to make a contiection These in-
clude baud rate, number of stop bits and
word size, file capluire is optional. The cur-

RATINGS: POOR

} nan Uliego
city locations

GOOD

rent time and cost of the call may also be
displayed on the bottom of the screen if
required. A call may be disconnected by
pressing Alt End.

After starting a communication session,
the top-line menu (FIO again) lets you
switch to file transfer mode. According to
the manual, the remote system must also
be using Enable. This seemed a bit of a
hassle. but reading further on! found the
protocol was the good old XModem sys-
tem (otherwise known as the Christensen
protocol).

| still prefer Yam or Modem/7, since En-
able is strictly menu-driven and takes too
long to start accessing a file. C

V.GOOD EXCELLENT

DOCUMENTATION re

INTEGRATION
RELIABILITY |

EASE OF USE

VALUE FOR MON eee

eB Se ESS SS SS

incompatab
Problem solv

Solution 1

Media Master™™%™,,

Media Master for the IBM PC
provides access to program and data files of
over forty different formats.

With Media Master you can even
format a blank disk in the ‘foreign’ format,
right on your IBM.

Formats* that can be read include:

IBM PC CP/M-86, Atrix, Avatar, Casio, Chameleon, Columbia,
Cromemco, DEC VT180, Davidge, Digilog. Epson, Fujitsu,
Groupil II], Heath Zenith, IDEA, ISM, Insight, Kaypro Il, LNW-80,
Lobo, Micral, Morrow (1!, 2 and 3), NCR, NEC (PC-8001A),
Olympia, Osborne, Otrona, PMC, Reynolds, Sanyo, Superbrain,
Systel, Tl Professional, TRS-80 CP/M, Teletek, Toshiba T100,
TurboDOS, Wang Maws CP/M, Xerox 820, Zorba.

Media Master (for IBM PC) $99.00

Media Master for the DEC Rajnbow

Media Master is also available for the
DEC Rainbow. It currently supports over 20
different formats.

These include:

Actrix, Cramemco, DEC VT180, Heath, IBM MS-DOS, IBM
CP/M-86, Kaypro I], Lobo, LNW, Morrow MD2, NEC PC-8001,
Osborne, Systel, Teletek, Tl Professional, TRS80 CP/M, Xerox,
Zenith.

Media Master for DEC Rainbow $225.00

Solution 2

XENOCOPY PLUS

The ultimate production and reading
machine. :

If you need to read, write and format a
lot of formats, including special formats not
on the list, Xenocopy provides the maximum
flexibility.

80 track formats require an 80 track
drive to be fitted

40 track formats* include:

Actrix, Alphatronik, Ampro, Associate, ATR, Avatar, Beehive,
California Computer Sys, Columbia, Cromemco CDOS, Datavue,
DEC VT18X, Epson, Groupil 1], HP 86a, IBM PC CP/M 86, IDEA,
IES!, IMS 5000, Intersil, ISB, ISM, ITT 3030, Kaypro II, Lifeboat
Assoc., LNW, Lobo, Magic, Micral, Morrow, NCR, NEC 8001,
Novell, Olivetti M20, ETV, ETX, Olivetti, Olympia ETX, Osborne,
Otrona, Pegasus, PMC, Reynolds, Samyo MBC, Sharp, Siemans,
Systel, Teletek, Televideo, Tl Pro, Toshiba T100, TRS8O III/IV
CP/M, TurboDOS, Xerox, Zenith, Zorba.

80 track formats* include:

Altos, Ampro, AOS, ARC, ATR, Compupro, DECmate !1, DEC
Rainbow, DELTA, Dictaphone, Discovery, Eagle Il, EPIC, Facit,
KONTRON, Macsym, Micral, Micronix, Monroe, in.s.c., Nokia,
Northern Telecom, OSM, Otrona, Phillips 3000, Pied Piper, Rair,
Sanyy, Seiko, Siernens, Superbrain, Technicon, Televideo,
Vector. Zenith

XENOCOPY Plus (for IBM PC) $295.00

Solution 3
Apple-Turnover.

Do you need to copy files from Apple
disks to IBM or IBM to Apple?

With an Apple-Turnover board tn your
IBM you can:

[ ] Copy files from Apple disks to IBM disks
[_] Copy files from IBM disks to Apple disks
[_] Format a blank disk for Apple CP/M or
Apple DOS

Exchange spreadsheet files between
Apple programs (Viscalc and Multiplan) and
IBM programs (1-2-3, Symphony,
Multiplan), exchange dBase disk files or
WordStar files between Apple CP/M and
IBM. Transfer ‘HIRES’ Apple graphics files
for display on your IBM. Copy Apple CP/M
programs to IBM with Apple-Turnover and
run them using our 80Mate CP/M Emulator.

The Apple Turnover package consists
of a ‘half-size’ printed circuit card, auxiliary
cable, software and user manual.

Apple Turnover software supports
Apple DOS 3.3 (16 sector) and Apple CP/M
disk formats commonly used in the Apple II,
1+, lle and [lc computers.

Apple Turnover (for IBM PC) $545.00

Solution 4

PC-Alien

This powerful locally developed
program includes many local machines,
including Microbee, Portapak and Amust,
as well as Bondwell, Osborne and
Wanewriter.

PC Alien (for IBM PC only) $95.00

Solution 5

Run CP/M-80 programs on your
IBM-PC with no additional hardware.

80Mate software emulator allows
your IBM-PC or compatible to run almost
any CP/M-80 program without the expense
of co-processor boards.

80Mate/80Term (for IBM PC) $295.00

*Note: For details of the exact models from
these manufacturers, please contact LOGO.

Polywindows.

This amazing new background
program provides desktop productivity at a
single keystroke. Even while you are running
another program.

1. Your numeric keypad becomes a full
feature printing calculator.

2. The Rolerdex gives yout a small scale
database, perfect for replacing your manual
Rolodex, and it’s a lot faster.

3. The Monthly Calendar, alarm clock and
appointment book help you manage your
time.

4. Memos, letters and lists can be instantly
stored and recalled with the notepad editor.
5. Polykey lets you assign specific
functions to particular keys. It rivals the
high priced keyboard utilities.
Polywindows Desk (for IBM PC) $99.50

Sidekick

The other great background utility is also
available.
Sidekick (for IBM PC) $99.95

Neglected DEC Owners

Feel neglected no longer! LOGO Is an
authorised DEC dealer with stacks of great
DEC software. Whether you have a
Rainbow, DECmate or whatever, get on our
mailing list. Goodies like WPS-80
wordprocessing for the Rainbow, Media
Master etc etc. are available from !OGO.

eo) (eile

LOGO COMPUTER CENTRE,
305 HENRY LAWSON BUSINESS
CENTRE, BIRKENHEAD POINT
PO BOX 389 DRUMMOYNE
NSW 2047

mec (02) 819 6811

“.MERICAN EXPRESS

ASSURE

INSURANCE AGENTS REST

ASSURED

Les Bell looks at an exciting new package which is
bound to lift the spirits of many an overworked
insurance agent.

THE INSURANCE BUSINESS and com-
puterisation go together like peaches and
cream. In fact, major insurance companies
were among the first users of mainframe
computers. Now computerisation is com-
ing to small companies and, in particular,
agencies.

Insurance agents need to keep track of
their clients, using much more sophisti-
cated capabilities than standard mailing
list managers. Not only is there a need to
store the client’s name and address, but
other information such as date of birth,
sex, occupation code (risk varies with
occupation), superannuation scheme de-
tails, and other general details are also
required.

A new package is available which does
all this and more. Called Assure, it was
produced and developed by Aetna Life and
Casualty’s DP department, and is designed
to professional standards.

More than Just a

Mailing List Manager

Assure manages customer records with up
to 10 mailing lists as one database, and
maintains separate databases of policies,
applications currently being processed,

et Bh se Mae!

ean oP
ats

arnt be gs
Set a HEY
ie mn ar

Client Maia peyote dl
APF ae Maintenance/Eneat
TET reepy teeta yen
pe A
ke TSU
nee atasus
Return to Main Nene

ay bit’ i Bal

and business prospects. It also contains a
letter writer and report generator and, to
top it all off, there's a general ledger pack-
age as well.

All this is quite attractive to general in-
surance agents, but for those who sell Aet-
na’s policies there's an added plus — a
communications utility which links the
package to Aetna’s mainframe system,
SPEARS, allowing complete access to poli-
cy information, superannuation tables and
the like.

Assure is designed to minimise the day-
to-day clerical activities of an insurance
agency. Usually an entry is made in the
prospects database, which contains full
details of a prospect — including appoint-
ment dates, date of birth, occupation code,
referral source and business and home
addresses. Prospect records can be added,
updated and deleted.

The report writer allows reports to be
produced, indicating subsets of the pros-
pects — such as all in a particular post-
code or those with appointment dates in
the next week. The entire file can be listed
to paper every so often for quick reference.

if all goes well and a prospect signs an
application for insurance, the next step is

ae i

As eae cT Se

Cee
POLICY NOBBER

a ee
Cy

UA tO ante
ADDRESS LINE: 2
ey) yams

eet d Pe a eT eT

to transfer that person's details to the ap-
plication tracking subsystem with the
‘transfer prospect to client’ function, which
copies the data across without rekeying.

The application tracking menu works in
the same way as the others, allowing the
user to perform enquiries, update and de-
lete records and list applications on the
printer, as well as using the report writer to
generate special reports. Special features
include the ability to mark suspense
codes, indicating the reason an applica-
tion is presently suspended — for example
‘medical exam’. Once an application is
completed, its suspense code is set to
CMP, and it will be transferred to the
Client/Policy system.

The Client/Policy system is a small re-
Jational database which keeps track of
clients and their policies. Again, the menu
structure is similar to the other functions,
and special reports can be generated. The
client file keeps a large amount of informa-
tion in each record, including two addres-
ses, bank account and doctor details, refer-
ral source, and 10 client information and
five ‘other data’ fields.

Once a particular client has been !o-
cated in the file, the POL’ command takes >»

ASSURE Policy Maintenance/Enquiny

Hee

a as
Rona ae ae

Se oo), UO er)
oath ens
eta tt

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19 SEX (MOR Fy: *

RN
2 STATE (REQ)
PRA wT
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Pan) EN Fi
25 BASIC PRERTU:
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|
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aides an the dollooitny fietls

PT ere ce
SENDERS RAME, ADDRESS LANE E22 Thee ®
gerapedd on the Jop al cael bettas

the user directly to the appropriate entry in
the Policy Maintenance/Enquiry system.
Policies are retrieved by sequence
number: if this is not known, the system
will display a summary of all policies for
that client and the appropriate one can be
selected.

More To Come

These three subsystems cover most of the
day-to-day activities of an agency — but
there is more to this package.

Another built-in bonus is a smal] but
flexible general ledger system. While notin
the same league as specialised packages,
this program suite will be useful to most
agencies.

The chart of accounts can be set up by
the user in a completely flexible format —
the only special account which must be
identified is the bank account. The system
supports three types of transactions: pay-
ments, receipts and journal entries.

The general ledger can produce several
reports; obviously the most important of
these are the trial balance, balance sheet
and profit and loss statement. Other spe-
cial facilities include reconciliation of un-
presented cheques and departmental
accounting.

The general ledger will be most useful
for agencies which have several companies
in their structure, want to separate several
facets of the business, or do accounting for
some clients. The multi-company facility is
especially useful.

Slick Application

The ‘SPEARS’ (Sales Portable Enquiry And
Response System) facility is used to access
Aetna’s IBM mainframe through a modem
communications link. This apparently (not
being an agent I was unable to try it) allows.

ASSURE

on-line enquiries of policy status, life
tables and other actuarial information. The
Agent Support Program /AP50 allows on-
line updating of the Aetna Alpha and poli-
cy files with no manual intervention — a
particularly slick application which an Aet-
na agent can use to create initial data files
and then update monthly.

Assure has been designed with the user
in mind. Security facilities allow a single
PC with Assure to be used by a number of
agents, with access to different areas con-
trolled on an individual basis. Each user
can log on and off without exiting the
Assure system, which ifs left running.

PRODUCT DETAILS

Program:
Made by

Assure

_ At each stage, keying three dots (‘...’) in
response to a prompt will get the user out
of that screen and back to the menu. This
makes the system quick and easy to use —
you can plough ahead knowing that press-
ing the wrong key won't inevitably lead to
disaster. However, there were one or two
places in the preview system where this
scheme didn’t work and left me with a
locked-up system.

The documentation supplied with
Assure is excellent — a glowing example
to the Australian software industry. The
manual is bound in an iBM-style slip-case,
and is printed in a style which matches
IBM's manuals, right down to sample
screens printed in a light-green colour.

Assure is sold (or leased) by Aetna ona
turnkey basis — Aetna will supply the PC,
printer and software (including Multimate’
word processor), and will maintain it, train
users, answer queries through the 008 hot-
line service and generally make it work.
(Sometimes I wish someone had done that
for me.)

Future enhancements for Assure will in-
clude a Fire and General system and a link
with Multimate. Agents can either buy
Assure outright ($5000) or lease it for $80
per month (Aetna agents can get it for $40

per month).
All in all, Assure seems to fit the bill
perfectly for insurance agents. 0

Aetna Life & Casualty Limited, 2 Help Street,

Chatswood 2067; (02) 411 7779.

Useful for:
Hardware req'd:
Extras included:
Options:

Price:

None
None

RATINGS:
DOCUMENTATION

POOR

EASE OF USE
SPEED
FUNCTIONALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY

GOOD

Insurance Agents
Hard Disk

$40/S80 per month on lease or $5000 flat

V.GOOD EXCELLENT

87

Avtek Multimodem II

This is Australia’s top selling modem,
and with good reason. The Multimodem II]
is the right choice where you need total
flexibility in your data communications.

Digital signal processing techniques
are used to perform all major functions
such as modulation, demodulation and
filtering. This eliminates the need for ana-
log filters by integrating on-board A/D and
D/A converters and a digital signal pro-
cessor with a 24K ROM and 1.3K RAM to
perform the digital filtering. So Multi-
modem is more reliable, particularly on
poor phone lines.

Here are just some of the reasons
people choose MultiModem.

1. Fully Viatel compatibilty. Multimodem
provides the 1200/75 baud rate necessary
for Viatel and the new generation of high
speed databases. With the optional baud
rate converter, Multimodem I] provides
1200/75 baud rate communications for
computers such as Commodore which do
not support split baud rate as they stand.
2. Internal expansion buss. A Multi-
modem first. Most modems cannot be ex-
panded. But as developments come along,
Multimodem will be able to handle them.

3. Auto answer facility is now a true ‘ring
detect’ circuit. Multimodem II can actually
sense an incoming call and respond im-
mediately. It is completely independent of
the strength of the ring voltage.

4. Interfacing is easy. Multimodem’s front
and back channels are fully integrated.
There is no need for special cables when
using 1200/75 and other split baud rates.
5, The fully integrated baud rate conver-
ter is now available as a built in feature,
reducing cost and increasing reliability.
6. Never requires adjustment. Complex
modulation, demodulation and filtering are
carried out by crystal locked filters. Criti-
cal analogue adjustments give way to crys-
tal locked precision.

7. Digital VLSI circuitry provides
Australian and US standards at the flick of
a switch. CCITT and Bell standard, plus a
new simplified function control allow you
to select the right standard in seconds.
8. Full Analog and digital loopback fac-
ilities allow fast testing of line, computer,
cabling and modem.

Multimodem
[ $365.00

Multimodem II inc.
auto
answer $399.00
Multimodem II tnc.
auto answer plus baud

rate
convertor $485.00

our communication

Minimodem II.
New improved version of the famous

Minimodem provides reliability and per-

formance equal to Multimodem.

Additional features include:

\Y| Now provides Viatel (1200/75 baud

rate) and 300/300 full duplex as standard.

[¥/ Commodore VIC 20 and 64 version

now available. These plug directly into the

user port, saving users the need to buy

expensive RS232 adaptors.

i\/|, Can be powered by the computer dir-

ectly (for éxample MicroBee and Commo-

dore).

\Y¥} On 1200 baud (e.g. Viatel) special

equalised position is available for improved

results on poor phone lines.

Minimodem

inc. power |

supply $199.00

Minimodem (suit

Commodore user

port) $235.00
Software for _VIATEL
Services

Modem communication provides the
ability to do lots of things over the phone;
your banking, advertising, buying, etc. but
only with the right software on your com-
puter. With our VIATEL software pack-
age you can capture Viatel pages and add
the data into your own files and reports.

The package suits NEC APC III, IBM
PC (and compatibles), Apricot, Sanyo
MB550 and 555, Wang PC and TI Prof-
essional.

Here are just a few of the features.
No need for baud rate convertors

Although Viatel uses 1200/75 split
baud rates not supported by most PCs,
our VIATEL software will work with a
standard Minimodem or Multimodem
(without the baud rate convertor).

The VIATEL software handles all the
baud rates changes - saving you money.

Saves frames to disk.

The user may ask VIATEL to save
particular pages displayed on the screen or
even ask VIATEL to automatically store
every page that is displayed. VIATEL can
then display all pages or go to a page dis-
playing a particular keyword or phrase.

Since Viatel services charge on the
basis of elapsed time, this facility can save
you money.

Filter page contents.

This facility ‘cleans up’ pages so you
can use them later with you database or
word processor. VIATEL can even recall
pages from one disk file while saving the
filtered pages in a different file.

Features for information
providers
Page editing

Use VIATEL to create pages and
either save them on disk or send them to
the Viatel system. The PC does not have
to be connected to Viatel while making up
pages - providing a considerable saving.
Create pages from PC files.

Files created by word processors and
other programs can be given to VIATEL
and used as the basis for Viatel pages.

For NEC APC III, IBM PC (and com-
patibles), Apricot, Sanyo MB550 and 555,
Wang PC and TI Professional. Please
specify the machine.

Normally $275
This month only $250.00

Contact Natwick Management for

further details.

Cables

Need to fasten modem or printer to
micro? We have the right leads!! At the
right price.

1.8 metre male to male $35.00
1.8 metre male to female (suit IBM etc)
$35.00

Cables are also available to suit most
Other non standard RS232 ports (e.g.
Macintosh) ring for details $45.00

Better 1

Viatel for the

MicroBee

There are Viatel modifications for the

Bee, but they are hardware/software
modifications and they are a compromise.
The Avtek software provides the best,
fastest and easiest way to put your Micro-
Bee on Viatel. Written by Conal Walsh,
famous MicroBee software developer, it
provides superb, fast Viatel access on
your MicroBee without the need for

messy hardware modifications. Yet the

price is no higher.
MicroBee Viatel only $49.50
Contact Avtek directly for MicroBee soft-
ware.
Acculink

Acculink is just about the most power-
ful asynchronous communications package
you can get. It has all the facilities to allow
the APC-III to communicate directly or via
modem with virtually any other computer.

Both error checking file transfer and
conversation modes are provided. A sep-
arate configuration program is provided to
allow the user to configure the software to
a variety of communications needs.

Menus guide the user through all
sequences needed to establish com-
munications.
‘No doubt. This ts the best comms package
I’ve ever used.’

Barry Polinsky

Acculink communications software
normally $285.00 $250.00

NEC Printers

When it comes to printing it out, NEC
Pinwriters have no competitors!! Send for
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P2 Pinwriter $1095-00 $995.00
P3 Pinwriter $1410-00 $1350.00
P5 Pinwriter $1995-00 $1895.00

All cables and printer switching equip-
ment available at very competitive prices.

NEC APCIII

The fastest and lowest priced PC on
the market. With the NEC the world is
your oyster! Serial and parallel ports are
standard. The superb resolution of the
NEC, in both colour and monochrome
makes it the only choice for Viatel. And all
the best software runs on the APC. At the
lowest prices.

To top it all off, for this month only, we
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SYS1M 1 x 720K disk drive $2995-00
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SYS2M 2 X 720K disk drives $3565-00

3445.00
SYS3M 1 X 720K drive plus LOMB hard
disk $5195-00
$4995.00

Including Colour Monitor

SYSIC 1 x 720K disk drive $3995-00
$3550.00

SYS2C 2 X 720K disk drives $5595.00

$4095.00
SYS38C 1 X 720K drive plus 10MB hard
disk $6155.00
$5665.00

Avtek (Electronics) Pty Ltd

Phone (02) 427 6688 7
PO Box 651 Lane Cove NSW 2066

Note: Competitive dealer discounts
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Phone (02) 428 1666
Suite 2/25 Burns Bay Road

PT

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“Considered the most powerful and versatile computer/ terminal in its
price range, not only in Australia but in the world. The SEGA system
offers you all the Videotex features and a full computer facility for about
the same low cost as a dedicated terminal.”

Communicating eye are i t
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» @ Editor transmission modes: @ Full typewriter style keyboard
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BIT BUCKET

BIT BUCKET

SYMPHONY SPELLING CHECKER

Distributor: Imagineering 579 Harris Street Ultimo 2007, (02)
212 1411

Price: $233

| hese days, anyone producing a word processor must also

' provide a spelling checker, so Lotus has released a spell-
ing checker for use with its integrated package, Sym-
phony.

The Basics

All spelling checkers attempt to identify misspelled words and
allow you to correct them, and some even offer suggestions on the
correct spelling. However, most programs list words for the spell-
ing check in alphabetical order, so they can’t offer any suggestions
if you get the first letter of a word ‘rong’. Symphony's checker gets
round this hitch by using a phonetic check.

What You Get

Symphony comes in a plastic case and the spelling checker comes
in a scaled-down version containing the disks, a manual and a
quick-reference card. The installation is spelled out (sorry) in volu-
minous detail: it takes 28 steps on a hard disk! You need a CONFIG-
SYS file and, although the installation guide tells you what to do if
you already have such a file, it doesn't mention what the Symphony
CONFIG.SYS file contains. On atwo-disk system you're told to add
the speller program, which occupies about 130 Kbytes, to Sym-
phony’s help and tutorial disks.

There are three Spelling Checker disks: a program disk and both
an American and a British dictionary. The American dictionary puts
80,000 words into 217 Kbytes, while the British version fits 99,000
words into 255 Kbytes. The American dictionary accepts both
‘catalog’ and ‘catalogue’, but rejects ‘colour’; and the British ver-
sion accepts ‘generalise’ and ‘generalize’, but not ‘color. The
manual has this to say on the subject:

“Some words have two spellings. Spelling checker accepts
both spellings of a word as long as neither spelling is distinctly
preferred. If a word has a preferred spelling and its second
spelling is generally considered to be rare, spelling checker
highlights the rare spelling as a spelling error.”

This seems a good arrangement (once you've deciphered just
what it means), and Lotus is to be congratulated for providing this
choice of dictionaries. An on-line help facility is also provided,
taking up about 10 Kbytes.

Options

Symphony's spelling checker offers an unusual number of options
which can be toggled on or off. One of these, also found in other
programs, is to correct repeated misspellings. Less common are a
check that the first word of a sentence is capitalised and one to
check whether hyphenated words are to be treated as a unit
(mother-in-law) or as separate words (one-year-old-babies).
Another check highlights words which appear twice in a row and
provides the option of deleting the second occurrence.

When you want to add a word you have up to six auxiliary
dictionaries to choose from, but Lotus gives no indication of any
limits to their size. Unfortunately, the dictionaries are stored in
non-ASCll files, so in order to see which words are in them you have
to copy them to a print file (PRN) first.

Using Spelling Checker

Because this program has so many options it canbe alittle tricky to
operate. | had some problems with the installation, but once |
started running the checker everything went smoothly. The main
correction menu offers the choices List, Edit, Resume, I, 2, 3, 4, 5,6
and Quit. ‘List’ gives you a list of suggested words, ‘Edit’ enables
you to type in corrections, ‘Resume’ ignores the misspelling and
goes to the next word, ‘I’ to ‘6’ add words to one of the numbered
dictionaries, and you can work out what ‘Quit’ is for.

The repeated words menu has the choices ‘Erase’, ‘Resume’ and
‘Quit’, and the capitalise menu allows you to ‘Capitalise’, Resume’
and’ Quit’. If you add a word which is capitalised in your document
to one of the dictionaries you are asked whether you want the word
to be capitalised in the dictionary.

The spelling checker is rather slow, as are most of its compeati-
tors, especially when you're waiting for it to come up with a
suggestion. However, it did have a high success rate when | threw
deliberate misspellings at it. |

At $233 the Symphony spelling checker is not cheap, especially
as an add-in to an already expensive program, but it is a capable
product. If you use Symphony for word processing and if you can
afford it, this program is highly recommended. 0

BY JOHN NICHOLLS

TANDY 200

Manufacturer: Tandy Australia 91 Kurrajong Avenue, Mt Druitt

2770, (02) 675 1222

Price: $1399
wo years ago Kyocera stunned the world with the first
really portable, battery-powered computers with 40-
character by 8-line liquid crystal displays: the Tandy Mod-
el 100, the NEC PC8201 and the Olivetti M10.

The Tandy 100 was followed by the Model 200, which has a

hinged 16-line screen, standard parallel and serial ports, abar code

reader socket and a built-in modem. A healthy assortment of
software is included in ROM: there's a BASIC interpreter which is
compatible with the Model 100 BASIC, a Multiplan spreadsheet,
Telcom communications and a Text word processor.

BIT BUCKET

Memory

Forty Kbytes of RAM is used, and two more 24 Kbyte banks can be
added to take total RAM to 72 Kbytes (the standard has been 24
Kbytes of RAM). This RAM is battery-backed and holds its contents
even when the main power supply is disconnected. It’s arranged as
a RAM drive and can hold up to 46 user files. As each file is added,
space for processing is reduced, but mass storage on cassette or on
disk through the optional disk drive/video interface is possible.

ROM Software

Text, the Tandy 200's word processor, has all the usual cut-and-
paste, search, delete and block-move functions. Output is divided
into lines and pages, and margins are set. Headers, footers, page
numbering and right-justification of text are not supported. Print-
ing is blindingly fast: my test indicated about 500 characters per
second.

The Tandy 200 also has Microsoft Multiplan in ROM and sup-
ports up to 63 columns and 99 rows, although the amount of
available free memory, the formulae and the data inserted all
combine to limit the number of usable cells. | created a spread-
sheet with a fairly complicated formula in each cell and was limited
to 91 rows and 10 columns. At one-fifth the speed of Lotus, Multi-
plan is no speed demon, but, given the spreadsheet size, it’s
adequate.

The Tandy 200's database allows you to search for key phrases in
strings in any ASCII file and list them either on the screen or to the
printer. There are two other programs on the opening program,
ADDRSS and SCHEDL, which use the same routines to look at
ASCII address book and schedule files. ADDRSS can also auto-dial
the modem, while SCHEDL can set alarms at times.specified within
the file.

This review was written on a Tandy 200 and uploaded using
Telcom, the communications program, to an MS-DOS disk on
another machine for transfer to Your Computer's typesetter. I've also
used Telcom to access bulletin boards. Apart from the slow saving
and loading of files and the memory limits, the Tandy 200 is a
versatile and competent machine. (a)

BY JOHN HEPWORTH

93

OH BROTHER

OH BROTHER!

God's own gift to travelling journos and business people,
or wolf in sheep's clothing? Ted Doyle puts the
Brother WP600 to the test.

I'M A COMPUTER-ILLITERATE journo, and
so’s my mate, Bob Murphy. We recently
decided to ‘get with the pace’ of the twen-
tieth century by trading in our battered
Olivetti manual typewriters for a couple of
electronic jobs. That led to the purchase of
two Brother WP600s. This latest midget
word processor proved, however, to have a
couple of features which made it into a
wolf in sheep's clothing .

Firing up the Brother terminal with one
of the six mode settings and connecting it
to a modem or coupler allows instant file
transfer to a distant computer. (Knowing
that the ways of marketing men are indeed
strange, we didn’t ask the Brother people
why they had designated what is, essen-
tially, a peripheral terminal as a word pro-
cessor.)

Besides being a word processor, the WP
600 is capable of sufficient communica-

94

tions to draw on another manned compu-
ter’s files, and to file to it—- God's own gift
to travelling journalists and business
people,

So, for $900 you don’t get a computer,
but you do get a fairly powerful word pro-
cessor and a very powerful information
transfer device.

Somebody at Brother obviously got the
message that data processing is about
‘output, output, output’: the WP600 comes
complete with a dot matrix printer capable
of printing in ribbon or thermal modes.

The entire package is small — 27 cm
deep, 34 cm wide and 6cm thick — and fits
nicely into an optional, soft, leather-like
carrying Case,

Limitations
We found a few limitations with the pro-

cessor side of it, and the small liquid crys-
tal display (24-digit) makes editing, or
even remembering what you just wrote,
difficult. We got the best results by using
the processor in the ‘justify’ mode (where
for some reason it prints every line as you
hit return), and then using the finished
printout to find and correct boo-boos in
the file — that's still painfully slow.

The people at Brother aren't saying, but
it would seem the need to get the machine
on the market led them to use the old EP
44 case and LCD hardware, arranged round
a bunch of new chips — there's no other
excuse for not going with a completely
revamped case design with a nice swing-
up keyboard lid and a_ three- paragraph
LCD inside it.

There are also some program limita-

tions which result in ‘hard’ return symbols
locked to an empty line. This requires an
Alt/delete and question/answer routine to
get rid of the pesky carriage return, and |
found it altogether a pain in the neck.

Those bitches aside, it sure Js a relief to
hit the morning plane, assemble the
Brother, do some editing, and print a
whole bunch of stuff you were supposed to
have finished last night.

The disk drive uses a 9 cm microfloppy
disk a la the Apple IIc, which increases the
basic storage package to 114 Kbytes, with
the WP600 memory alone storing 14.5
Kbytes and the disk capable of 100 Kbytes.
That gives about 10 pages of text in the
processor memory and something like 40
pages on the disk.

The filing arrangement is in blocks, with
80 blocks of roughly 1250 Kbytes each on
the disk. The blocks, however, appear to be
contiguous and it's okay to fill the disk with
a single file.

Moving into Comms
By the time we'd had the Brother for a
month, we were coping with the LCD and
random CR hassles, and we had no trouble
getting good use out of the machine.
About then, we decided to investigate
the comms side of things; in particular,
transferring data to an IBM PC. The last
time this writer looked inside anything
electronic it was an army multi-channel
telegraphy unit with valves; a piece of
something hot and hard flung by an angry
Vietnamese had come hurtling through
the back of it, leaving a roughly circular

OH BROTHER

Somebody at Brother
obviously got the message
that data processing is
about ‘output, output,
output’; the WP600
comes complete with a dot
matrix printer capable of
printing in ribbon or
thermal modes.

hole and doing things to the gizzards that
Mr Plessey’s field service manual never
foresaw. We didn’t know if the object was a
piece of shrapnel or an unexploded 40 mm
shell, so the unit came apart gingerly.

Filled with a similar terror, we took
the IBM PC apart to install the absurdly
expensive comms board ($150 is dear — |
don‘t care what anyone says), and then we
came upon the mysteries of RS232. After
several attempts to build a cable that
worked we discovered the lO Technologies
Smart Cable and things got better.

On that very day the Smart Cable drag-
ged us, filled with wonder, into the latter
quarter of the twentieth century, and some
kind soul gave us a ‘PC Talk’ disk from
Freeware, an American organisation dedi-
cated to user support. Having only experi-

enced the tiger sharks who pose as compu-
ter salesman and having resigned
ourselves to the “You need this little jigger
here to enable that function — it’s only
$900" approach, user support software isa
concept we grasped quickly — one cheque
for SUS35 is winging its way east now.

What wonders! We'd managed to get the
little WP600 running the IBM like a charm.
The user-supported software was well pro-
duced and documented. and also powerful
beyond our fledgling ability to exploit it —
and all for $35! Here our complete ignor-
ance of anything more sophisticated than
a field radio had us lost in software. Initial-
ly we couldn’t get it to strip the Wordstar
format and print commands, so the file
wouldn't go to memory on the WP600 and
instead printed a hard copy (albeit with
strange spacing and word wrap).

Then we discovered how to print the
files to disk in the ‘PC-Talk’ subdirectory,
which meant they could be transmitted to
a file on the Brother without the printer
being involved. The final printout was still
weird, but a rough copy of a file was really
all we needed.

The unit does the latter well, and as
‘PC-Talk’ writes straight to disk, the Word-
star found itself filled with unformatted
files from the WP600 in no time. It was then
only a matter of inserting Wordstar car-
riage returns on the PC to print a copy.

What You Pay and What You Get
The total bill for the WP600 — disk drive,
thermal paper roll carrier, disks and all —}>

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ON SALE AT YOUR NEWSAGENT EVERY MONTH

95

was more than $1000, which is pretty smart
pricing for a fairly flexible terminal unit
with all the goodies.

if there were a second RS232 port and
some device for writing to disk on incom-
ing transmissions, the little thing would be
formidable.

Good Things, Bad Things

Good points about the Brother? Price, of
course. The ergonomics of the keyboard
are also fine, with one exception (see la-
ter). It's a soft-touch board with beautifully
shaped keys which fall to the finger very
naturally. Key action is clear and precise,
with no hard stop at the bottom of the
stroke.

All functions are perfectly clear, and an
extra control key, marked ‘code’, along with
a second shift key, expands the board from
44 characters and 20 functions to 88 and 20
respectively.

The printer has auto insert and remove
for paper, and the typeface is large, clear
and damn near daisywheel-quality. There's
a roll dispenser which clips onto the
machine for handling continuous paper,
while the plastic column ruler over the
platen pushes back to act as a cutter.

All function keys are clearly marked and
perform perfectly. The machine runs on
four D cells and has an auto-off function.
There is also a plug for an external six-volt
source.

The bad things? The pesky LCD and ran-
dom CRs we've already discussed, and
finally a complaint about the otherwise
superb keyboard. It has an upper-case lock

OH BROTHER

Those bitches aside, it
sure is a relief to hit the
morning plane, assemble

the Brother, do some
editing, and print a whole
bunch of stuff you were
supposed to have finished

last night.

which you tend to hit when reaching for the
‘A’ key, and it always seems to take a sent-
ence or two before you realise a red ‘idiot
light’ built into the key is on.

Print speed is decidedly slow at 16 char-
acters per second, but the printer is reli-
able and can be left to churn through the
roll while you do other things.

Perhaps the most serious complaint is
the inability of the printer to type properly
on normal paper. It requires a gloss-finish
thermal paper, even for ribbon work, and
gives a decidedly furry finish on normal
stuff. That makes multi-colour letterheads
a bit of a worry, though we found we could
print on Brother's slightly shiny stuff and
then whack that in the photocopier with d
tray loaded with letterhead paper — the
results were ace.

Final Thoughts

In summary, the WP600 is probably a har-
binger of things to come, and Brother
could possibly have a bigger LCD, multi-
paper-type printer and plug-in software
for the next version, which is about 18
months down the track.

The two machines we used have been
subject to every abuse we could dish out
and haven't missed a beat. Murphy, who is
American and operates in the overkill
zone, even typed a continuous file which
nearly filled the disk and printed it out in
one sitting without melting the printer
head. The thing is strong; bouncing it off
the pavement and letting it rattle around
the sleeper cab of an interstate truck didn't
faze it — we tried.

The only abuse which did cause a prob-
lem was Murph carrying one of the micro-
floppies in his pocket — along with the
crumbs, dust, nuts and washers any grow-
ing boy gathers along the way. Result? Bad
craziness in the I/O department. It's okay,
though; he blew it out with a compressor
and the poor thing worked just like a new
one — wouldn't you, for fear he'd do the
same, or worse, again?

The biggest bitch of all is the docu-
ments, which are better than your average
Japanese handbooks, but still leave a dis-
turbing amount to the imagination. Read-
ers should remember, however, they were
in the hands of a couple of fellers who,
until recently, were convinced that DOS
meant finding a place to sleep... still, isn’t
that most customers? O

With these selected projects from
Electronics Australia you can add all of the
gadgets and gizmos you've dreamed of —

Cruise Control
Courtesy Light Delay
Deluxe Burglar Alarm
Headlight Reminder
Audible Reversing Alarm
Transistor-assisted Ignition with
Optoelectronic Trigger
. .and many more easy-to-build
projects to add value, interest and
safety to your pride and joy!

Available from your Newsagent Now! Or send
$3.95 plus $1.00 post and packing

to Electronics Australia, PO Box 227, Waterloo
2017, NSW.

Business

Chemists Keep Up With the Times... 98

Chemists are prime targets for computerisation — not only do they have
the normal management requirements of any small business, but they
also need up-to-date and accurate information on available drugs and
patients’ records. Commercial systems are now available to meet most of
their needs. What everyone's still waiting for is the software to convert
doctors’ handwriting into something remotely legible.

Vitel Grapevine inc cccssssssssssssssuesnseessstsesussseesnsesseesssstes 102

Wanna win a bundle? Money Watch is a dangerously attractive service
destined to seduce all those who have yearned for the excitement of the
Stock Exchange floor. No need for legalised casinos when you can access
telebroking from the privacy of your own home. Our Viatel voyeur,
Norman Kemp, checks out this service and some new equipment in this
month's roundup of the world of videotex.

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99

COMPUTERS IN CHEMISTS

AMONG THE MOST critical users of micro-
computer systems are members of the
medical profession and associated ser-
vices. Their needs are demanding — pre-
cise records are essential for the treatment
of patients, and the standard of program-
ming has to be extremely high.

In recent years micros have advanced
into the consulting rooms and surgeries of
doctors and dentists to keep individual
and family records, and are now progres-
sing into the dispensaries of pharmacists
for computerised prescription processing.

Although several commercial com-
panies have ventured into the phar-
maceutical field, few have succeeded in
satisfactorily meeting the requirements,
which range from handling powerful and
sometimes potentially dangerous drugs to
providing instant access to patients’ re-
cords, stock control and keeping track of
information issued by drug suppliers.

According to John Johnston, marketing
director of Foundation Medical systems of
Artarmon, Sydney, the secret to successful
pharmaceutical computing is software.
Vendors. he said, have tried to sell
pharmacists various brands of hardware
without the particular software required
for the highly specialised processes.

“Selling pharmacists technological
equipment rather than appropriate soft-
ware is not particularly productive,” said
johnston. “The pharmacist is interested
particularly in how suitable the equipment
will be for his or her business, and the ways
in which it can assist productivity. In fact,
existing technology has capabilities far in
excess of the work a pharmacy requires, so
technical considerations are secondary."

2000 Potential Sales

Foundation Medical Systems is a leading
supplier in this field, with experience in
supplying medical and pharmaceutical
computer services dating back six years.
Managing Director john Clarke gained his
pharmaceutical experience with the Roche
drug company, while John Johnston was
formerly with another multi-national drug
house, Abbot Laboratories. The company's
Training Director, Nancy Maher, has work-
ed in dispensaries for |5 years. Its two
major competitors are Spauldings of
South Australia and Australian Phar-
maceutical Industries — many others
which started in recent years have with-
drawn. About 1200 pharmacies around Au-
stralia have computers, and according to
johnston there are around another 2000
potential sales.

100

About 1200 pharmacies
around Australia have
computers, and according
to Johnston there are
around 2000 potential
sales.

a a a a

In its early pioneering days, the com-
pany sold Polaris computers in Victoria.
Although the American-made Polaris is
now defunct, afew models are still working
in pharmacies, according to Johnston.
They were reasonably ahead of their time
with a Z80 processor, 64 Kbyte memory
and two floppy disks of 256 Kbyte capacity;
and with two printers they sold for $26,000.
FMS upgraded a couple of years later to
the Zeda, the first computer available in
Australia with an integrated hard disk of 5
Mbytes capacity, which has since faded
from the scene. "They were very reliable,
but the problem was that they were single-
user machines that could not be ex-
panded," Johnston said. About 90 were
sold, and several are still being supported,
although the line has been discontinued.

The principal systems sold are the Tele-
video single- and multi-user models,
which were introduced about three years
ago. According to Johnston, the Televideo
range currently dominates the market,
with installations at about 160 sites. Re-
flecting the trend towards lower prices for
hardware in recent years, a Televideo con-
figuration comprising two terminals with
360 Kbyte disks and three printers can be
obtained from about $16,000.

Over the past six months, FMS has also
been selling the MS-DOS 256 Kbyte NEC
APC jIl with monochrome screen, 10 Mbyte
hard disk and two printers for around
$9200. The high-resolution colour screen
available for the NEC APC Ill is a major
feature for a number of pharmacies, John-
ston added. “The colour version highlights
various aspects of pharmacy processing
such as drug interactions.” This allows the
pharmacist to tell by the shades and col-
ours not only whether a new drug could
interfere with a patient's existing prescrip-
tion, but also indicates the severity of the
problem. It’s just one of the many ways in
which software programming can be tai-
lored to assist the pharmacist to detect a

problem, and is also of vital concern to the
patient who may be some distance from
the regular doctor and unable to get exact-
ly the same medication. The computer can
also give guidance on whether the pre-
scription has been made up in the correct
proportions and check the dosage.

To ensure that its software meets indi-
vidual requirements, FMS writes its own
programs ina structured BASIC for CP/M
operating systems, which it calls FS
(Foundation Systems) BASIC. The com-
pany has a proprietary multi-user operat-
ing system, FS-DOS, which supports up to
16 users, and also has MS-DOS programs
for single-user sites. “When we entered the
pharmacy market CP/M was the only major
operating system, with several others of
lesser note,” Johnston said. “None had the
kind of capabilities for executing jobs in
dispensing or pharmacy. A principal re-
quirement was very fast retrieval of in-
formation from large databases, and CP/M
could only address files up to 4 Mbytes.
Now there is no problem getting 16-bit
operating systems that can support |O and
20 Mbytes and the multi-user peripherals
which most pharmacies need.”

The company’s FS-DOS is similar to Tur-
boDOS expiained Johnston. It had a cu-
rious history, having been written original-
ly in New Zealand in 1978 by some Amer-
ican programmers working on medical sys-
tems with Foundation Computers. FMS,
which is not connected with Foundation
Computers of New Zealand, subsequently
licensed the operating system for its own
equipment, and still gets regular enhance-
ments. An example of its capability when
more than two jobs are being carried out at
one time is that whiie an order is being
prepared by one operator, different dis-
pensary tasks can be carried out at another
terminal.

“Our expertise is in being a computer
company which became involved in the
writing of an operating system, as well as
applications software and other packages
for hospitals and pharmacies,” said John-
ston. “We now have a number of products
in the medical field which we are con-
tinually extending.”

Saves Chores

According to Johnston, pharmacists have
to do a lot of clerical work to get prescrip-
tions paid by the government when dis-
pensing for the public. Typical chores in-
clude writing repeat forms on official sta-
tionery, writing drug labels for bottles and
packets, coding information for later refer-

ence and maintaining patients’ records.
They may connect directly to and acquire
the latest details from the National Drug
Information Service and then print notes
about ‘new wave’ products such as reac-
tions on people with allergies or sensitivi-
ties to certain organic chemicals.

It is usual for a pharmacy to have at least
two printers —- one dedicated solely to
printing labels off rolls, and another used
for various forms of reference. A third prin-
ter could handle the business aspects of
the pharmacy, such as word processing
and accounts. Most pharmacies purchase
a minimum of two terminals so one can be
used exclusively in the dispensary and the
other for general office purposes. In very
busy pharmacies, the equipment can oper-
ate for most of the day.

FMS has entered into a joint marketing
arrangement with the Victorian and
Queensland branches of the Pharmacy
Guild of Australia. Johnston claims the
Pharmacy Guild co-operation isn’t an en-
dorsement, but a joint venture in sharing
expenditure on research and develop-

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COMPUTERS IN CHEMISTS

ment, preserving pharmacists’ invest-
ments in specialised software and in train-
ing. More than 90 per cent of pharmacists
belong to the Guild.

One of the most experienced users of an
FMS system is Bill Abbotsmith of Ipswich
in Queensland, who has a single-user Tele-
video system which connects not only with
the National Drug Information Centre in
Canberra, but also with the Dialog In-
formation Retrieval Service at Palo Alto,
California. From his pharmacy computer
he’s able to search for and supply answers
to medical and pharmaceutical problems
from the hundreds of thousands of records
maintained by Dialog on a daily basis.
‘This means | can readily obtain up-to-
date, 24-hour information including drug
profiles, interactions between certain
drugs and any other aspects relating to
pharmacology,” he said.

“Since installing the system, my
pharmacy is operating in afar more profes-
sional and efficient manner. In addition to
script processing, ] am also reaping the
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information, marketing reports, stock con-
trol.and instant access to patients’ records.
Patients appreciate the short waiting time
and the comprehensive instructions which
accompany the scripts. When a prescrip-
tion is presented, three printers work
simultaneously at labelling, filling repeat
authorisation forms and compiling a drug
profile.”

The joint venture between FMS and the
Victorian Pharmacy Guild has resulted in a
rapid growth of computers in the state.
Johnston said the Victorian venture was
based on the installation of 100 Founda-
tion systems in the first 12 months.
“However, the Foundation and the Guild
have achieved this. target well within the
one-year period, vastly exceeding all ex-
pectations.” “Pharmacists feel computer
systems are becoming a necessity in to-
day's fast-progressing society.”

With the increasing number of drug in-
formation services available both in Au-
stralia and overseas, the traditional
method of running pharmacies is changing

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VIATEL GRAPEVINE

LOCK THE MONOPOLY board and play-
money in a closet and look at the real
action, courtesy of Telecom's Viatel. In
what is claimed to be one of the most
ambitious services yet provided for Viatel
subscribers, the John Fairfax publishing
group in Sydney is sponsoring detailed
and up-to-date inter-city stock exchange
information on daily share transactions
through the Australian Financial Review —
almost as they occur.

Called Money Watch, the service makes
every computer user a potential stockbrok-
er, with electronic ordering facilities which
enable the user to buy and sell through
recognised firms at the press of a button.

Money Watch will be patterned on
Citiservice, which has been providing Brit-
ish Prestel users with United Kingdom and
overseas commodity and financial futures
market information since last October.

The service offers colour graphics and
bold lettering for ease of reading, and faci-
lities for contacting brokers and giving in-
structions for trading in shares, trusts and
other financial market goodies. Users will
be able to shop around via the screen,
comparing shares to decide which will be
on top at the end of the day.

Money Watch isn't intended only for
professional money managers, but also for
those who've built up share portfolios as
part of other business activities. Private
investors can now use a desktop computer
to study annual reports, previous share
tradings and the entry of new publicly
listed companies.

While its supporters claim telebroking
creates confidence in and awareness of the
markets, the concept clearly has its dark
side too. The temptation to fiddle with a
favoured stock is high, and an Incautious
or inexperienced investor could make a
decision on the spur of the moment that
mightn't turn out to be so lucky. Monopoly
is a game, but electronic trading can
stimulate a compulsive urge to gamble.

Those protesting that this is unlikely to
happen should refer back to the frantic
days of the early ‘70s when Australia’s
mineral resource stocks were going
through the roof and share trading trans-
actions were several days behind the
events of the stock exchange floor because
brokers couldn't keep pace with the frene-
tic public clamour for bonds, which in real-
ity were barely worth the paper they were
printed on. In the ensuing debacle hun-
dreds of investors lost their savings, and
many retired permanently from stock ex-
change investment. Today the market is

102

Called Money Watch, the
service makes every
computer user a potential
stockbroker, with electronic
ordering facilities which
enable the user to buy
and sell through
recognised firms at the
press of a button.

still dominated by professional traders.

The useful aspect is that the prudent
investor who up until now has had little to
say inthe stock market can now become an
active trading partner in determining the
trends by taking advantage of more im-
mediate access. The scope of private in-
vestment can be broadened as more com-
prehensive statistics on a greater variety of
companies become available.

Telebroking can be operated by shop-
keepers, contractors, lawyers, accountants
or office managers with equal facility, fora
relatively nominal cost. Account status re-
ports are being provided to assist users in
keeping a check on transactions, so they
don't overdose on enthusiasm or
optimism.

Just as home banking has opened an
enormous potential market for videotex
services, so market updates and stock ex-
change transactions from users of remote
computers will allow further expansion of
electronic services through Viatel. At the
end of June Telecom had 3672 registered
users on Viatel, with about an equal prop-
ortion of home users to the professional/
business segment. Telecom hasn't divided
the figures into user groups, but the ‘re-
sidential’ section is believed to include a
number of users who have computers at
home, which they use for business pur-
poses. One attraction of being a residen-
tial user could be the lower registtation
fee, which applies in the second year.

The June totals also showed growth in
the business sector, which appears to be
taking off after a slower start than the
home-user sector. At the end of March,
Viatel's first fully operational month, there

was a total of 983 users, most of them in
the residential category. In April this had
risen to 1612, but the business sector's
enthusiasm became marked mainly during
May, which produced a total of 2728 reg-
istered users.

There are still too few commercial in-
formation databases on Viatel to predict
what will be the most sought-after areas,
but home banking appears to be promin-
ent in both segments, while vendors offer-
ing a variety of products ranging from
travel brochures through computer
peripherals to umbrella teleshopping are
reporting favourable responses. One in-
formation provider said that after the com-
pany’s first month on Viatel, during which
it had mainly been advertising its range of
goods, it found the two incidental services,
games and recipes, which it was offering
for free, were also popular. This suggests
computers which have been brought into
homes for business purposes are also
being used for family leisure activities.

Apple Modem

Apple Computer Australia has packaged a
data modem with communications soft-
ware devised by Netcomm of Pymble,
NSW, for Macintosh and Apple IIc users
who want to access Viatel and other
videotex services.

The package is priced at $795. This may
seem a hefty sum for home enthusiasts,
but it does offer the professional user a 300
bps and 1200/75 Prestel full-duplex data
modem with Hayes Smartmodem com-
patibility based on the Apple Modem 1200.
The modem also has automatic dial and
answer and, with communications soft-
ware, allows remote connection across
standard Telecom lines with any approved
Australian modem at 300 bps, connection
at 1200/75 with a conventional Prestel
modem, or connection with any American-
standard Bell 103 modem at 300 bps.

Apple says the Macvideotex software
makes full use of the Macintosh interface.
Users can make complete files of videotex
transmissions, or cut and paste from
videotex while transmissions continue.
Material saved can be incorporated into
Macwrite documents may be printed.

On the Apple llc with Modem 1200, the
Videotex II software converts the computer
to a fully interactive video terminal, with
the ability to save videotex transmissions.
The auto-dial, auto-logon and printing
facilities also apply. The package has been
designed to assist Apple users in acces-

BY NORMAN KEMP

sing facilities such as financial and curren-
cy information, banking services, travel
booking facilities and current affairs re-
ports. Viatel subscribers will also be able
to use the videotex service to send telex
messages and communicate through an
electronic mailbox when these facilities
come on-line late this year or early in 1986,
and to download programs and data files
currently being compiled.

Tandata Manufacture

Plans are in an advanced stage for Austra-
lian distributor GEC Digital of North Ryde
in Sydney to manufacture the Tandata
range of keyboard terminals and modems
for Viatel and other videotex services in
Australia. GEC Digital was appointed dis-
tributor of the British-made Tandata pro-
ducts toward the end of last year, but has
kept a low profile while it looked into local
manufacture of the products.

Moves towards Australian production
have been stimulated since a decision last
May by Australian customs to impose a 30
per cent tariff on all videotex goods im-
ported from overseas. Customs has the
power to enforce this levy if approached by
an Australian company which is making or
intends to make similar products and re-
quests price protection so it can’t be
undercut by imports. Although the names
of those applying to customs in the
videotex equipment area haven’t been re-
vealed, industry sources believe at least
two companies are involved.

Marketing manager of GEC Digital, Terry
Crewes, said the tariff protection would
mean higher prices across the board for
Australian products. Confirming that GEC
Digital was preparing to set up local manu-
facture for a number of units, Crewes said
the company would probably have to sell
these at a higher price than the identical
imported models because Australia
couldn't achieve the same economical
scale of manufacture as the United King-
dom.

GEC Digital and several other com-
panies, including AWA, Philips, Sony and
Rank Electronics, have asked the govern-
ment not to remove the tariff concessions
on imports. These companies claim the
industry could provide better and more
economic facilities and services if videotex
terminals and adaptors were treated in the
same way as personal computers, with a
bounty for local production and import
duty retained at the existing two per cent.

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VZ200

YAHTZEE
This is a VZ200 version for the
dice game Yahtzee, designed for
an unlimited number of players.
Each player throws his or her
dice up to three times each turn.
After the first and second throws
you can hold any dice you wish to
keep, re-throwing the balance. Af-
ter the third throw you must enter
your score in the table provided.
Once a score has been re-
corded for a particular category,
that category can’t be used again.
The game ends after 13 rounds.
Because of the limitations of
the printer used to produce the
listing it’s wise to include the
graphics |shift Js} in lines 2020
and 2050. The sections under-
lined should be inserted in in-
verse text.
The program occupies 5.9
Kbytes of memory.

lan Thompson,
Collaroy Plateau, NSW

Main Variable Used

POCKET PROGRAMS

CP? HEE EE EER MEER NBER

1 ‘x V2Z-200 YAHTZEE et

2 ‘#* IAN THOMPSON — COLLARGY <=

SS Me EE EE EEE HE

4 CLS:SOUND 25,46: COLGR,O

5 FOR X=1 TO S2:sPOKE 26671+xX%,204:FPOKE 291517
X,195

6 POKE 26672,174:FOKE 28703,172:PQKE 29152, 1
71sPOKE 29163,167

7 NEXT X

8 FOR N=26704 TO 29120 STEP 32

9 POKE N,202

10 NEXT N

11 FOR O=28735 TG 29151 STEP 32

12 POKE 60,197

13 NEXT @G

22? PRINT@1LO6," YAHTZEE "

24 At=" TAN A. THOMPSON "

26 BS="COLLARGY PLATEAU"

2B FOR N=1 TO LEN(AP)

30 FRINT@231,RIGHTS$ (AS,N) ;

32 PRINT@263, RIGHTS (Bt,N) =

54 NEXT

39 FOR I=1 TO SOOsNEXTI

36 PRINT@4S54, INSTRUCTIONS (Y/N) ?"

36 IF INKEY#<>"" THEN 38

40 At=INKEVS

42 IF At="N"“ THEN SOUNDSO,1:GGTQ100

44 IF AS<>"¥" THEN 40

45 SOUND20,1

46 GOSUB 21000: ‘INSTRUCTIONS

100 POKE 30744,0:COLOR 5,0:CLEAR 1000

120 R=RND(O)

130 CLS:FRINT@128,"NG. OF PLAYERS"; : INFUT NF
135 SOUND 21,1

140 DIM SC#(13,NF) ,S1$(15) ,S2$ (13) ,NS( NF) , DF

NS( } Player's name

S1IS{ ) Titles of category

$29$( ) Description of category

SCcS( ) Update score for each category
DF( ) Spots on dice

Sc( ) Score

ND( ) Random number for dice

NP Number of players

IP User update of scoresheet
TURN Turn number

Main Routines

0- 46 Title frapnics
100 initialises screen background
Clears memory for variables
130 Input players’ names
140 Initialises variabies
160-170 input players names
165 Limits player's name to [1 characters
180-190 Set number of player turns per number of
players
210 Random number generator for dice throw
290-320 Print score table
330-420 User update of score
470-570 Updates total score
600-650 Displays final score and placings
1000-1120 Data statements for score table
1130-1160 Data statements for spots on dice
2020-2050 Displays dice
9000-20040 User update of score subroutine
21000-22140 Instructions C)

(6,6) ,SC (NF) , YF (NP)

145 GOSUB 1000

150 FOR I=1 TO NF

160 CLS:PRINT@126,"PLAYER #313: INPUT°’S NAM
E“:N€(1)

162 SOUND 71,1

165 IF LEN(N#S(1))>11 THEN SOUND 20,1:10,1:G0
TO 140

170 NEXT

180 FOR TURN = 1 TO 13

190 FOR PL=1 TO NP

210 FOR R=1 TO 5:ND(R)=RND (6) s NEXT

220 GOSUB 2000

230 GOSUB 3000

240 FPRINT@414, “REMEMBER THESE, THEN“

250 PRINT“HIT ANY KEY TO CONTINUE": AS=INKEY?
260 AS=INKEY$: IF AS="" THEN 260

270 FOR I=1 TO 6:N(1)=0:NEXT

280 FOR [=1 TO SsN(ND(I)) =N(ND(I)) +12 NEXT
290 CLS:FRINT"“CHOOSE A CATEGORY, ";N¢ (PL)
300 FOR I=1 TO 13:FRINTUSING"##) “=I;

310 PRINTS1$(1):S2% (1) sSC#(1,PL)

320 NEXT

330 PRINT: INPUT“WHICH C1-123":IP

S40 IF IP¢1 GR IP>13 THEN 290

345 IF IFf=12 THEN 12000

350 IF SC#(IP,FPL)<>"" THEN 15000

360 IF IPC? THEN SC#(IP,PL)=STR#(IPENCIP))
370 IF IP=7 OR LP=8 THEN 7000

380 IF IF=9 THEN 9000

290 IF IF=10 THEN 10000

400 IF IPsit THEM 110900

420 IF IF=12 THEN 1tto00

VZ200

450 NEXT FL:sNEXT TURN

440 FOR FL=1 TO NF:sFOR [=1 TQ 12

4429 NEXT

470 FOR I=1 TG &

480 SC(PLI =SC(PL)+VAL (SCH#CI PLD) sNEXT

490 IF SC(FL)>62 THEN SC(PLD=SCCPLI435

5300 FOR I=7 TO 13

910 SC(FL) =SC (PL) +VAL (SC# (I FL)

520 NEXT:NEXT

S=9O FOR f=1 TO NF-i

S40 Hl=O:FOR J=1 TC NF

550 IF SC(J) -HI THEN HI=HSCt(J) ¢F=d

540 NEXT

S70 D=SC(1)-+SC CI) =SC(F):SC:\F) =D

580 DF=N¥#(1) sN& CT) =NF CF) ee CF 3 HDF

38S NEXT

590 SOUND 20,1: SOUND 19,1:SGUND 20.1

600 CLS:PRINT"AND THE FPLACINGS ARE":

6420 PRINT: FRINT: FOR I=1 TO NF

6429 PRINTUS ING" ##"; 1;

640 PRINT“) “sN#(1) : TAB (25)<25CC7)

6350 NEXT

660 FRINT@480, "ANOTHER GAME (Y/N) 7"3

670 GOSUB 20000

4680 IF YN#="¥" THEN FRLIN

450 CLO:FRPINT&416—. baal! fet. PR Rcd hye
‘: END

{600 ‘DATA STATEMENTS

19040 FOR i=1 TO 13

1950 READ S1¥#(1I),S2t¢(1)sNEXT

1960 DATA"ACES",". CSUM OF 1’°S]7 -","THOS","
- CSUM OF 2°Sj -"

10790 DATA" THREES",".f€SUM OF 3°S] -","EQURS",
“. CSUM oF 4°S3 -"

1080 DATA"FEIVES",". €CSUM OF 3‘SJ —", "SIXES",
". (CSUM OF 6’°S] -"

1090 DATA"3S GF A KIND”,”. CSUM] -","4 OF A

KIND’,". TSUMI —"

1100 DATA"FULL HOUSE", "- {251 -","§M. STR
AIGHT",". CLz0oj] a

1110 DATA"LGE. STRAIGHT",". [40] —", “YAHTZEE
ees c501 -"

1120 DATA"CHANCE",". csuma -"

1150 FOR I=1 TO 4:FOR J=1 TO I
1140 READ DF (I,J) :NEXT: NEXT

1150 DATA 66,33,99.1,66,131,33,55,97,99

1140 DATA 1,%,66,129,131,1,3,65,67,129, 131
1190 RETURN

2000 CLS:PRINT N&(PL) <s"°S ROLL"

2010 FOR R=96 TO 224 STEP F2:FOR S=2 TO 26 S$
TEP 6

2015 COLOR 5S

2020 PRINT@R+S," ": ‘THREE SHIFT J‘S

2030 NEXT: NEXT

2040 FOR D=1 TO 5S:FOR N=1 TO ND(D).

2045 COLOR 3

2050 PRINT@91+D#4+DF (ND(D) ,N)," "s “ONE SHIFT
J

2060 NEXT:NEXT

2070 RETURN

3000 FOR K=t TO 2:F=1

3010 FOR J=1 TO 5

3020 F=2524+)*4:RR(J) =0

3030 PRINT@P, oe

3025 PRINT: PRINT

3040 PRINT"REROLL THIS ONE CY/NI?"

3050 PRINT"CS FOR SCOREBOARDJ":FRINT"CM FOR

MISTAKE]: YN¢=INKEYS

2060 YNE=LNKEY#

3070 IF YN#<>"V" AND YNS<>"N" AND YNE<>"S" A

POCKET PROGRAMS

ND YN$<>"M" THENZ3060

3072 IF YN¢="Y¥" THEN SOUND 20,1

3074 IF YNt="N" THEN SOUND 10,1

3076 IF YN#="S" THEN SOUND 15,1

3078 IF YN¢="M" THEN SOUND 20,2;10,1

S080 IF YN€0°"S" THEN S150

3090 CLS:FRINT TAB(S) sN#(PL):"'S SCORES"

3100 FORI=1701L3:FRINTUSING ##] “sIs

3105 PRINT S1#(1);S2#(1)sSC#(1,FL)

3110 NEXT:PRINT“HIT ANY KEY TO RETURN: *:A4#=!

NKEYS

3120 AS=INEEVYS: IF AS="" THEN 3120 ELSE GOSUB
2000:GOTO 3020

3120 PRINT@F," u

3140 IF YN#="M" THEN 2010

3150 IF YN#="Y¥" THEN RR(J)=1

3160 NEXT

3170 FOR f=t TO S:IF RR(I)=1 THEN NDCI) =RND<
6):F=0

3180 NEXT: IF F THEN K=2

3190 GOSUB 2000

3200 NEXT

3210 RETURN

7000 FOR I=1 TO 6: IFN(I)>IP-5S THEN 7020
7010 NEXT

7020 GOTO 16000

7030 SC=0

7040 FOR [f=1 TO 5:SC=SC+ND (I) 2NEXT

7050 SC#(IF,PL) =STR* (SC)

70460 GOTO 430

9000 FOR I=1 TO 6

9010 IF NCI) >2 THEN N(I)=N(I)-3:GOTO 9040

9020 NEXT

9030 GOTO 16000

9040 FOR I=1 TO 6

9050 IF N(I) >i THEN 9080

9060 NEXT

9070 GOTO 16000

9080 SC#(9,FL)=" 25"

9090 GOTO 430

9090 GOTO 430

10000 FOR I=1 TO 3:F=1:FOR J=I TO I+3
10010 IF N(J)=0 THEN F=0

10020 NEXT

10030 IF F THEN 10060

10040 NEXT

10050 GOTO 16000

10060 SC#(10,FPL)="" 30"

10070 GOTO 430

11000 FOR I=1 TO 2:F=1:FOR J=I TO I+4
11010 IF N(J)=0 THEN F=0

11020 NEXT

11030 IF F THEN 11060

11040 NEXT

11050 GOTO 14000

11060 SC#(11,PL)=" 40"

11070 GOTO 430

12000 FOR I=1 TO &

12010 IF N(I)=5 THEN 12040

12020 NEXT

12030 GOTO £46000

12040 SC$(12,PL)=" 50"

12050 IF YF(PL) THEN SC#(12,PL) =STR# (VAL (SCE
(12,PL))+100)

12060 YF(PL)=1

12070 GOTO 430

13000 SC=0:FOR I=1 TO 5

13010 SC=SC+ND(I) sNEXT

13020 SC#(13,PL)=STRE(SC)

13020 GOTO 430

Se eee eee renee eee eee eee eee eee ee ee ee eee ee eT ee ee en nen ee SD IT TTT TED EL OT LL A SILLA

106

15000
15010
15020
15030
15040
16000
14010
14020
14025
0 290
16030

SOUND 15,1:CLS
PRINT@128," YOU'VE ALREADY DONE"
PRINT'THE "sSi#CIP)3" "sN¢e(PL)

FOR 1=1 TO 2000:NEXT

GOTO 290

SOUND 15,1:CLS

PRINT@128, "YOU'RE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR”
PRINT’A “:SI1¢(IP)s" “:N¢(FL)

IF IP=12 AND YF(PL) THEN SOUND 0,8:GOT

PRINT: PRINT:PRINT"DG YOU WANT IT ANYWA

Y CY/NI?";

14040
14050
14060
14070
14080
20000
20010
20020
20030
10,1

20040
21000
21010
VER"

21020

?

21030
21040

21050

¥
21040

21070
21080
5

21090
21100
Zii1io
21120
21130
21140
21150
21152
21154
21156
21160
2L170
21172
21174
21174
21178
21180
21200
21210
Ss. at

21220
21220
21240
21250
21240
22100
22110
22120
22130
22140

GOSUB 20000

IF YN¢="N" THEN 290

SC#(IF,PLI=" O*

IF IP=12 THEN YF(PL)=1

GOTO 430

YNE¢=INKEVS

YNS=INKEY#: IF YN¢="" THEN 20010

IF YN#<>"¥" AND YN¢< -"N" THEN 20000
IF YN¢="Y" THEN SOUND 20,1 ELSE SOUND

RE TURN
CLS:PRINT" INSTRUCTIONS”
PRINT:PRINT“ IN THIS DICE GAME EACH FLA

PRINT"CAN THROW UF TO THREE TIMES EACH

PRINT’ TURN. AFTER THE FIRST THROW, HE"
PRINT'CAN SET ASIDE ANY DICE HE WISHES

PRINT’ TG KEEF,AND RETHROW THE BALANCE.

PRINT'HE CAN DO THE SAME AFTER THE"
PRINT" SECOND AND THIRD THROWS. HE CAN,

PRINT“GF COURSE, STGF BEFORE THE THIRD

PRINT" THROW IF HE WISHES. ”
PRINT“ONCE THE FLAYER HAS DECIDED TO”
PRINT“STOF, HE MUST DECIDE INTO WHICH"
PRINT“CATEGORY TO ENTER HIS SCORE. '
GOSUB 22100

DIM S1#(13) ,S2¢ (13)

FOR I=1 To 12

READ S1#(I) ,S2#(1):NEXT

CLS

RINT

FOR I=1 To 12

FRINT SI#t¢ Ty eStsectry: NEXT
PRINT@300,"CSUM OF HOUSE 1
PRINT@334,"£1,2,3,4,5,] ~"

PRINT@366, "C2,2,4,5,6,] —"
PRINT@=94,"CFIVE GF A KINDI
PRINT@427,"CANY FIVE DICE] —"

GOSUB 22100

CLS:PRINT"THE GAME ENDS AFTER 12 ROUND

FRINT"ONCE A SCORE HAS FEEN RECORDED”
FRINT’FOR A PARTICULAR CATEGORY, THAT”
FRINT"“CATEGORY CAN'T BE USED AGAIN. "
GOSUB 22100

RETURN

PRINT@4BS ,"FRESS <C> TO CONTINUE”:

IF INFEYS< "CC" THEN 22100

IF INKEY#="" THEN 22100

IF INKEY#="C" THEN 22130

SOUND 30,1: RETURN

POCKET PROGRAMS

Most BASICs

SORTING OUT
THE SORTS

The program listed with this arti-
cle was developed to test the
speed and efficiency of four sort-
ing algorithms: Insertion, Shell,
Quick and Selection. The program
will probably run as is in most
BASICS.

What's usually required of a
sort is to put a list of names into
alphabetical order, but the aver-
age textbook seems to present
sorts for numbers with no indica-
tion of the best choice for a par-
ticular task.

The choice of sorting algor-
ithms is broad: more than three
dozen are known, spread across
some hundred texts. The most
popularly presented, and the
slowest if list size is more than LI,
is the bubble sort.

Fortunately, the choice can be
narrowed down to short algor-
ithms which work in RAM only
and are not bubbly sorts in dis-
guise!

The program

The first program line, line 30,
asks for the size of the array to be
generated and sorted. Start witha
choice of 10 to check the sorts are
working as expected.

Lines 70-130 generate the re-
quired number of capital letters
and place them in the array. The
variable CD is set at 64, one less
than the ASCII code for ‘A’. A
number is generated in line 90
and added to CD. If this number is
acceptable, the character it repre-
sents is placed in array CHS. If
not, C is decremented by one and
the process is repeated. The loop
runs until BN (big number!) let-
ters are placed in the array. Line
130 prints out the unsorted list
and could be omitted from the
program,

The straight Insertion sort and
the Shell (insertion algorithm)
sort are particularly useful.

The Selection sort is always the
slowest, since the same number
of compares and swaps is made if
the list is random, or if only one
element is out of order. The Quick
sort isn’t much better if only a few

107

Most BASICs

elements are out of order. If the
list is random with more than 500
elements Quick sort is useful, but
only if there is no shortage of
RAM to store the two extra arrays
the sort requires.

The Shell sort is best for a ran-
dom list, and the Insertion sort is

best when only a few items in the.

list are out of order. For most
work the Insertion sort will do. For
instance, a mailing list is only tru-
ly random when first typedin, and
thereafter only insertions need to
be sorted. The Insertion sort is
simplest to understand: search
forward for an out-of-order ele-
ment, then search back through
the list and insert the element in
its proper place. The Shell sort is
a little more complicated: ele-
ments compared are a specified
distance apart, which decreases
unti] only adjacent elements are
compared,

Mr Jankowski,
Timaru, New Zealand

108

POCKET PROGRAMS

10 REM SORT MEASURE by LZ Jankowski
1S REM COPYRIGHT July 1985

20 ft

30 CLS: INPUT "“# of items in list “; BNa CLS
40 DIM CH#(BN), A(BN), B(BN)

450 REM ==———~-~--—-— Create random list of lLetters—----------~-------
70 CLS: PRINT TAB(C 20)"% Programming *": COwé4
BO FOR C=1 TO BN:a CO=CO+10: IF CO=94 THEN CO=464

340
350
360
370
380
390
400
410
420
430
440
450
460
470
480
490

wld
wal)
330
940
550
560
w70
380
90
600
610
620
630
640
650
660
&70
660
690
700
710
720
730
749
750
760
770

X=INT(CLOXRND (1) )+C0
1 IF X<65 OR X>90 THEN CeC-i1 GOTO 120
3 CH# (C) =CHRS (xX)
NEXT + CLS: PRINT “Random list is": PRINT : PRINT
FOR Cel TO BN: PRINT C"#" CH#(C) SPCC 4)33 NEXT & PRINT + PRINT
3
REM = — = — PN a
PRINT + PRINT & PRINT a PRINT TABS 15)"1> Insertion Sort"
PRINT TAR( 15) "2> Shell Sort”
PRINT TAB( 15) "3> Quick Sort": PRINT TAB(15)"4> Selection Sort
PRINT a INPUT “Choice "; C
IF Cel OR G>4 THEN RUN

t
PRINT '(28)2 PRINT “* Sorting 4"s PRINT «a PRINT

ON C GOSUB 500, 400, 370, 73501 GOSUB 350

’

REM te So Now sort °"A” from bottom to top of list-----~-~--~
FOR C=1 TO 40: PRINT “~"ga NEXT

PRINT s PRINT "Sorting °A' from bottom to top of list": PRINT

) GOSUB S00: GOSUER 350; GOSUB 400: GOSUB 350

GOSUB S70: GOSUB 3501 GOSUR 750: GOSUB 350

:
PRINT : INPUT “RUN again "“;Q@1 IF LEFTS(Q6,1)¢"¥" THEN RUN
END

t

See Print sorted list & # of compares & swaps----——
FOR C=1 TO BNa PRINT C *=" CH#(C) SPC( 4)48 NEXT

PRINT +: PRINT a PRINT "“Compares= “CM, "Swaps= "Se PRINT

CHS (BND =@"A":s Crh=Os Seda RETURN

ft

Be Shell sort based on Insertion algorithm---------
[= (2° INT (LOG (BN) /LOG (2) ))—1

IZzINT (1/2)

IF I<i THEN 470

FOR N=i TO Is FOR CeN+I TO BN STEP It M=Ca C#=CHS(M)
CM=CM+i¢ IF CH®(M-I)<=C% THEN 460

CH®(M) =CHS (M-I>s SeStie MeM-Ie IF MoI THEN 440

CH®(M)=C®e NEXT C: NEXT Na GOTO 410

PRINT “SHELL SORT": RETURN

t

REM =—-——-SSeeessae— insertion) sof .———————_—_—
FOR N=2 TO BNa Mens C#eCHH (Mm)

CM=CM+is IF CH®(M-1)<8C® THEN 330

S=S+ie CH#(M) =CHS(M-1)s MeM—ie IF M>1 THEN Sid

CHS (mM) =C$1 NEXT

PRINT “INSERTION SORT"s RETURN

i

REM ~---Quicksort best for very long, random lista--------
SPeisa ACLI=i: H(i) =BN

FI@A(SP): SI=B(SP)1 SP#SP-1

SF2FI: SS=Sls C#=CH@eCINT( (FI+SI) /2))

CM=CM+13s IF CH®(SF)>=C% THEN 630

SFeSr +1

GOTO 600

CM=CM+i: IF C®>=CH8(SS) THEN 650

86e88-11 GOTO 430

IF SF>S8S THEN 670

SeS+is E®=CH$(SF): CHS (SF) =CH#(S5): CH®(SS) Ee: SFeSF+1i: Ss=5S~1
IF SF<=S8 THEN 400

IF SFo#SI THEN 700

SP#SP+11 ACSP)=SF: B(SP)=SI

Si=#SS:1 IF FI<SI THEN 590

IF SP>0 THEN 360

PRINT “QUICKSORT"s RETURN

?

REM ----Selection Sort, dreadful! CM=(N-1)%N/2 Swaps=N-i-—
FOR Nei TO BN-1inM=Na FOR C=N+1 TO BNia CM=CM+15 JECH®(M) >CH® (C) THENM=C
NEXTs S#S+11 C@=CH®(N): CH®(N) #CHS(M) 8 CHE(M) =CS1 NEXT
PRINT “SELECTION SORT’: RETURN

POCKET PROGRAMS

Microbee

WOI@GREM BANNER 7/1/85 Richare Larkin. OGS19 NEXT D
MOL1@ DIM O47) @OI20 NEXT C
@@iZ0 STRS<seMa) +: FOR A=@ TO 7 + NBRLAI="" = NEXT A eowz@ FOR B=0 TO 7
@Gi3@ CLE =: PRINT ‘PLEASE ENTER BANNER" + INPUT TO = T=LEN{IG%) eO34@ FOR C=1 TO W
VOLS@ INPUT “MARGIN M + IF Mi@ THEN 142 O23EH LPRINT ALS OSB) AZSr = REM PRINT LETTER CREATED
02159 INPUT “WIDTH” Wo: IF Wi THEN 150 @O26@ NEXT C
O@16@ PRINT "COLUMNS ON PRINTER"N"1) 4@"Q"2) BB" \"Z) Los" @O370 NEXT B
OW170 KiS=KEY + IF Kige"1? 3 CaG@ ELSE IF Kig="2" 2 C=80 ELGE IF Kige"S" 2 Gait. @O380 NEXT A
ELSE 172

@G596 LPRINT *AKAN = RUN
OW180 He(C-M)/16 3% EsC-M-H#16& 2: QUTLA#! = LPRINT CHR«SZ-INTCVALCK1I$923 = REM © 1
S CTRL CODE FOR DIFFERENT COLUMN WIDTHS

@@199 IF E¢@ OR A¢i THEN PRINT “ERROA IN BATA PLEASE TRY ADAIN," = J=USRC32774)
> RUN

Hz2zO@ ASSo"" =: TF EQ +: FOR AK1 TOE ?: ASS=Ae$+" ~ | NEXT A

@9219 Alg=“" : TF m@ 2 FOR A=1 TOM 2 ALB“ALS+" * = NEXT A

QB2z20 CHe="" : Cigse"" = FOR A=1 TO KH ? COS=CUS+" ~ = CLi$=C1G+"+" 2 NEXT A

@@23@ FOR A=1 TO T +: REM LOOP TO BO EACH LETTER

@0240 FOR B=@ TO 7 © O@scBy="" : NEXT B

QO25G NOSlBBcsA, A) + P=BI4SE+1E+ASC(NDS) + REM FIND ADDRESS OF LETTER DATA
@326@ FOR C=P TO P+15

WO270 %=PEEK(C) 2: REM GET FIRST PIECE OF DATA

gOz26a FOR D=-@ TO 7

waz9e IF 1)127 + I@J-128 * AQS=COS ELSE LET AMKCi6

astaD O03¢(P)=ARS+08E(D) © I=le2 : REM AND CREATE LARGE LETTER

BANNER

Banner is one of those programs oa
that prints (believe it or not) ban-

cof 9¢ 99
ners. You type in what you want
and say how many columns your HARLIE S CASHBOOK
printer has and how wide you Any ‘‘Charlie’’ Can Use It!
would like the letters. Then’ it

: 2 ; “Cashbook” is two programs in one . . . both working together.
happily spews forth with giant let- The first manages all your bank accounts and the sects aheeel
ters on your printer. The OUTL# your expense ledgers.
command may have to be “Cashbook” will save hours of your accountant’s valuable time and
changed for different printers, provide ‘up-to-date’ financial reports . . whenever you require them!
and the control code sent to the But, What Does It Do?
printer to put it in the column see Mecice nen
7 a | vtaile nse Reports
aes ve want promapy also @ Multi-Company or Department @ Full Bank reconciliation
neeas changing iW you Nave a @ Multiple Bank Bank Accounts ® Comprehensive documentation
weird printer. But it’s very easy to @ Detailed Bank Reports ® Runs on IBM and compatibles
fix.

THROUGH NOW! ... AND WE
ON YOUR DESK IN THE MORNING

iad Lari SPECIAL OFFER: PHONE your ORDER $ 499

Charlie’s Computer Products _s««*
P.O. Box 513, South Perth, W.A. 6151 Res S

PHONE: (09) 367-7532 x?

109

POCKET PROGRAMS

Microbee
CATTER

Catter is one of those annoyingly
addictive games. The idea is to
eat all the mushrooms, but Catter
gets longer each time you in-
dulge, and it tends to wander if
not well controlled. Result? Very
hard to survive the eight rounds
well, on level 3 it is.

Richard Larkin
Dee Why, NSW

BBOIO@BREM CATTER 13/74/85 RICHARD LARKIN, @O250 FeS2-ASCCKEY) = IF F)S OR F(t THEN 2908

@0110 CLS : NORMAL =: PRINT "CATTER’S°"YOL) ARE IN CHARGE OF © CATTERPILLAR WHICH I @@30@ Qe24 * De® : Ye + CLS =: NORMAL 2 CURS 19,1 : PRINT "“CATTER-py Richard lu
§ RATHER FIDGETY."\"TT NEVER STOPS! SO YOU HAVE TO. AS BEST YOU CAN. HEAD IT TOW rkin." & CURS 27,8 : PCG ? PRINT "ROUND="R
AROSE":

BO310 1.98 + FOR X=-3876-Le2 TO -3@74 STEP 2! POKE X.133 3 POKE X4+1.i37 t NEXT X
@8i20 PRINT “ITS MEAL. MUSHRDOMS. SUT ONLY THE RIPE ONES. "A"USEING THE ‘At, 2°, 2 Es-3074 2: He-SO7B-Lez 3 Ges
{" AND °)* KEYS CONTROL THE CATTERPILLARS"4"DIRECTION. IF YOU DON’T IT WILLt" ;

G8520 T@sFLTCRI/FLTCRO+% & CURS 23,9 2 PRINT " SCORE © " 8 FOR X=@ To 15
@@12@ PRINT “GAME ENDS WHEN THE CATTERPILLAR CANNOT MOVE. “\“OR IF YOU SURVIVE &
ROUNDS. “A"GOOD LUCK!" + POKE 162.30 3 POKE 162,128 : POKE 257, 2 PBTIO PCX)=-409B+ INT CRND#5I2)42 =: IF PEEK CPCX))=32 THEN POKE P(X),138 © POKE PIX

} ¥+1, 142 2 NEXT X ELSE 320

#0140 FOR X=-2016 TO -20@1 + READ Y = POKE X.Y + POKE X#16.¥ 3 POKE X+#52,¥ + POK
E X+*66,¥ t NEXT X BOS6R OaQ-1 1 TF O59 + POKE Pil. FO+T ¢ POKE PCde}, a2eT + Day + Tey-T

0150 FOR X%=-1952 TO ~1937 : READ Y : POKE X.Y * POKE X#16.¥ ! POKE X*32.¥ % POK @@35@ CURS 31.9 : PRINT 9° “ 3 SeG-1 ! C=G t A=PEEKC258) 3 IF m=2h t Ge2 ELSE IF
E X+48, VY 2 NEXT X Ael : Gag ELSE IF Am4d : De} ELSE IF Aw46 : Gel

0160 FOR X*-1B88 TD -1.793 : READ VY = POKE X.Y © NEXT X ? FOR X=-30872 TO -3009 +: @0560 TF H*+D(G))-3073 OR H+0(G) (~46896 + Get
POKE X.255 8 NEXT &
@O2770 Cat & HeHt+D¢G) ¢ IF Hi) PCU) THEN 380 ELSE POKE Hi32 : POKE H+1.32 : SeS+1
O@178 DATA 3.12) 16+ 40, 83, G4. 137) 1358) 138, 157: G4, G3 40s 16. 1255 @ & UesiJ+1 ¢ PLAY U s HeO t O80 3 ¥ORVO+IG +: T=0 ¢ ez ¢ IF ULIE THEN 348 ELSE 43
a
@21i80 DATA 192. 48.6, 20, 202.2. 145.861.881.145. 2: 202: 20. 8.48. 192
@O58G IF PEEKCH)=32 AND H)~4096 AND Hi-307% THEN 4a
2919@ DATA @. 0,15. 48, 64.646, 128,128, 159,98. 2.4,4,8.8, 15
@0298 S=8-5 § HeO : FOR X=3 TO @ STEP -1 3 AmINTCRNDSFLTOX+1)) 1 B=NCAD &§ NCAD=N
BWz2AO DATA @. 15, E53, 127,127, 255.255. 255) 126. Ss 7. 71 15> 15 15, B (x) ! NCX)=B ¢ IF PEEKCH+D(B) 932 OR H+DCB)=PCU) + Geb 1 NEXT#X 37@ ELSE NEXT x
1 GOTD 450
OO210 OATA 1.3. 7.15. 1,63. 127, 255, 255. 127,652 $1.15, 7, 3,1
7 90400 POKE 0,.Z¢G) 1 POKE O1.2(G)+4 2 POKE H.14@ © POKE Hi, 141
@O220 DATA 128, 192. 2246. 240, 248. 252. 254, 255, 259, 254, 252) 248+ 24H, 2246. 192, 128
8419 KF Y@)1 AND Oa) 1 ¥Or¥O-1 ELSE LET C=PEEMK(E) 1 POKE &.32 1 POKE E+1,32 : £

AS2IO DATA OG. 248, lo. 2. Zo 1.0. 249, 78; 64, 32, 52s 16+ 16s 248 t£+D¢«C-138)

BWZ40 DATA B, 24s 252. 254; 256. 255, 25, 25H, 7Os 192+ 22h» T2G. 24D, 260, 240.0 WO420 OUT C2). 255 ¢ FOR Ye@ TD G4-Les + NEXT ¥ : OUT(2).@ : GOTO F4@

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WAS HTEC HON
Set

PCs im Marketing oc cssssssssssssessescsssssensseseenersenssenee 112

Plunge into the misty depths of ‘soft’ crystal balls — spreadsheets,
budgetting programs and financial modelling languages. Les guides us

through the murky depths of cost and profit centres in part three of his
tutorial series.

Structured Programming cc ccccssscssssessssseesssensesnsn 118

Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow? \n this eminently
sensible instalment of his series on structured programming, Phil Grouse
drives us all to the next level of abstraction, tells us where we can put our
files and shows how the leap-before-you-lookers can reattach themselves.

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It!

Pcs IN MARKETING

PERSONAL COMPUTERS IN

MARKETING

PART 3

Budgeting — the very word is enough to make
business people of all categories, creeds and companies
cringe. In this month's tutorial Les looks at how
computers can help make quicker, more accurate
forecasts — it's not just for the marketing fraternity.

BUDGETING [S an essential activity for all
business enterprises, as well as a major
component of planning activity. The basic
purpose of budgeting is to establish con-
trol over a business unit's activities by
comparing the aims of a business plan
with the actions needed to carry them out.

Budgets provide goals and divide an
organisation into different areas, so re-
sponsibility for different parts of the busi-
ness plan can be allocated.

This division of responsibility requires
the identification of areas, such as cost
and profit centres, throughout an orga-
nisation. Cost centres are areas like the
EDP department, which are net consumers
of funds, while profit centres are revenue
generators, such as sales and marketing.

The Bottom Line
in this view of budgeting, performance is
measured by the ability to meet or exceed
profit budgets, or the ability to contain
costs at or below the cost budgets. Howev-
er, this view is simplistic: it doesn’t
account for the investment required to
attain a result. For example, it might be
simple for the factory to reduce costs by
installing a new plant (which will allow it to
meet budget as a cost centre), but the cost
of the new plant would severely affect pro-
fitability.
' For this reason, most responsibility cen-
tres are viewed as return on investment
centres. To put it crudely, there’s no point
investing in a plant which returns only
eight or 10 per cent on the investment;
you'd be better off leaving the money in
the bank.

Some analysts take this concept one
stage further by deducting the cost of the
investment from the centre and working on
the residual income.

It2

To the marketer, the most important
budgets are those which view products as
profit centres, allowing comparison be-
tween actual performance and forecasts,
as well as comparison between existing
products and new product opportunities
or changes in existing product, distribu-
tion channels and so on. We'll look at
some techniques in detail next month, but
in the meantime ! want to look at some
ways budgets and planning models can be
constructed on personal computers.

A Small Budgeting

Program in BASIC

Several approaches to personal computer
budgeting are possible, but they basically
break up into pre-programmed models
and spreadsheet programs which can be
adapted more easily. For those readers
who don't have access to a spreadsheet
program (though there can’t be many of
you), I've included a BASIC program which
constitutes a small, quite general, pre-
programmed model.

The program is written in a subset of
Microsoft BASIC, which should run with-
out modification on most machines,
though users of [BM PC BASIC or GW-
BASIC may find the file handling has to be
altered slightly (only the Open statements
will require modification).

The model is for a manufacturing com-
pany with several products, each selling at
different volumes with differing growth
rates. Costs are split into variable costs
(those which vary with sales volume, such
as component or ingredient costs) and
fixed costs (generally overheads, contribu-
tion to costs of buildings and the like).

The model also includes a straight-line
depreciation component and calculation
of company tax at 46 per cent. Various

enhancements are possible, and should be
easy: changing growth from a constant
percentage to some other basis such as
exponential or power curve, calculating
depreciation on some other basis or incor-
porating price breaks on some of the vari-

able costs. - 4 .
Because the model is written in a gener-

al-purpose programming language, it's
possible to perform some functions which
simply aren't possible on spreadsheets,
although some modern spreadsheets have
closed the gap quite considerably. In par-
ticular, producing graphs from a program-
med model's output is not always easy,
despite the fact that general-purpose
graphics packages are available.

Spreadsheet Packages
Where more flexibility and simplicity are
required, a spreadsheet program is far pre-
ferable. Spreadsheets first appeared on
personal computers in 1979, when Visicalc
was released for the Apple.

A spreadsheet basically emulates a
large sheet of paper. However, where a
financial analysis sheet only shows the re-
sults of the calculations, a spreadsheet
contains the formulae representing the
calculations. The program has the ability
to re-calculate these formulae automati-
cally and display the results. Any assump-
tions can therefore be changed and the
results immediately displayed and
printed.

Spreadsheets have been considerably
enhanced since the early days of Visicalc,
particularly with the move to more power-
ful 16-bit personal computers which have
more memory. An early competitor to Visi-
calc, called Supercalc, is widely available,
and the latest version, Supercalc 3, com-

bines powerful spreadsheet calculation >.

Listing |. Financial Analysis Program in BASIC

100
119
120
130
440
150
160

179.

180
190
200
240
220)
230
240
250
260
270
280
290
300
310
320
330
340
350
360
370
380
330
400
41)
420
430
440
450
460
470
480
490
500
310
220
930
540
550
560
570
380
590
600
610
620
630
640
650
660
670
BBO
630
700
710
720
730
TAQ
750
760
770
780
790
B00
810
820
830
840
850
A160
870
880
89g
SNO
910
920

REM ees FINANCIAL ANALYSIS PROGRAM ***

REM “e* WRITTEN IN MICROSOFT BASIC V5.2 #**

REM “** BY LES BELL, 3/16/82 ***

REM CALCULATES SIMPLE PROFIT AND LOSS STATEMENT FOR

REM VARIABLE NUMBER OF PRODUCTS AND VARIABLE MIX OF
REM FIXED AND VARIABLE COSTS, STORES. INPUT DATA IN A
REM DISK FILE FOR LATER EDITING AND RE-RUN, OUTPUTS
REM RESULTS TO SCREEN OR DISK FILE.

REM *** INITIALISE ARRAY VARIABLES ***

PRINT CHRS{26):PRINT “Pinancial Analysis Pregram”:PRINT:PRINT
INPUT “FRESH CASE UR READ FILE DATA (F OR RYSQS

IF QS~"R" GR QS8-"r" THEN 1130

INPUT “Name for Model":T$

INPUT “HOW MANY ‘MME PERIODS":T

INPUT “HOW MANY PRODUCTS":P

INPUT “NUMBER OF PIXED COSTS PER PRODUCT": FC

INPUT “NUMBER OF VARIABLE COSTS PER PRODUCT':VC

REM »=* INITIALISE ARRAY VARIABLES ***

REM PNS PRODUCT NAME PR - PRICE

REM GR GROWTH RATE SA SALES VOLUME

REM RE REVENUE NiB - PROFIT CONTRIBUTION
REM TIBT- TEBT TI TAXABLE INCOME

REM T TAX Nl - NETT INCOME APTER TAX
REM CF PIXED COST CV VARIABLE COST

REM CVU - UNIT COST SCF - TOTAL FIXED COSTS
REM SCV. TOTAL VARIABLE COST

DIM PN&(P),PRIP)GR(P) SACP, T) REPT), NIBUP. TL TIBTEN), THT), TIT) NETH
DIM CHAP FC), CVIP,VC,T), CVUIP,. VC}, SCRIP), SCVIP,T}

REM *** GET NAMES OF COST ITEMS "=**

PRINT CHRS(26)

PRINT: FOR []-1 TO FC

PRINT “Name of Fixed Cost":J1;:INPUT CFS(I1)
NEXT Ti
PRINT: FOR Jt«1 TO ¥C

PRINT “Name of Variable Cost’:J1::]NPUT CVS(EA)
NEXT [i

REM =*° GET PRODUCT REVENUE AND COST DATA ***
PRINT CHRS(26)
POR Hi-1 TO P
PRINT CHR&(26)
PRINT “Name of Product"}I1;iINPUT PN8B{I1}
PRINT “Unit Price of a ";PNS{IU:INPUT PIR{i1}
PRINT “Initial saies volume of “;PNS(L1)"s"s:INPUT SA}, 1}
PRINT:PRINT “Growth Rate per period (%)": INPUT G
GNO1) — 1 +G6/100
PRINT: FOR [2-1 TO PC
PRINT "Fixed coat: “;CFS{[2);: INPUT CFU 1,12}
NEXT 12
PRINT: FOR 12-1 TO VC
PRINT "Variabie cost per unit: “CVS(12); INPUT CVU(II,I2}
NEXT 12
INPUT "OK - (Y/NY";QS:IF Q$<>"¥" AND QS <> “y" AND O8$<>°" THEN 530
NEXT IJ

REM “== DEPRECIATION ENTRY ROUTINE **

PRINT CHRS8{28);

INPUT "Number of depreciable assets":D

DIM IID, T).TD(T)ASSTS(D). LIFE(D), RBV(D), SAL(T)

POR Hil-1 TO B
PRINT CHRS8(26)};
PRINT “Name of depreciable asset"J1:INPUT ASSTS(I1} _
PRINT "Rersining Book Value of asset";LI:INPUT RBY{11)
PRINT “Romaining lifo of asset";[1;:INPUT LIFEU1)
PRINT "Salvage Value of asset“SIisINPUT SALI(EL)

NEXT 1

REM *** FILE WRITE ROUTINE ***
PRINT CHRS(26):INPUT "Write to file":
IF Q8<>"Y" AND QB<>"y" THEN 1410
PRINT:INPUT "Name of fila":N§$
OPEN "0",1,.N8
WRITERI,”"Name is".TS,"No of perinds:".f,"No of praducts:",P
WRITEHL."Ny of fixed cests:".FC."No of variable costs:”, VC
WRITE#1,"No of depreciable asgets:" i)
FOR [3-1 TO FC
WRITES, "Fixed cast:" 13, CFS8(I3)
NEXT 13
FOR 13-1 TO VC
WRITE#1,"Variable cost:",13,CV§U13)

PCS IN MARKETING

930 NEXT 13
940 FOR Ii~1 TO P

950

960

970

980

990

1000
1010
1020
1030
4040
1056
1060
16070
108)
1090
1100
1110
1120
1130
1140
1150
1160
1170
1580
1190
1200
1210
1z20
12d0
1240
1250
1266
1270
1280
1290
1300
110
1320
1930
1340
1350
1360
1370
1380
1390
1400
1410
1420
1430
1440
1450
1460
1470
1480
1480
1500
1510
1520
{330
1540
1550
1560
1570
1580
1590
1600
1610
1620)
1630.
1640
1650
1660
1670
1680
1690)
1700
1710
1720
1730
1740
1750
1760
1770

WRITE#H1,"Product name:”,PN8{I1}."Growth rate:”, GRI41)
WRITEAL,"“Product prica:".PR(E1), “Initial eales:” SAI, 1}
FOR 13-1 TO FC
WRITE#1, "Fixed coat:" 13,Cl(11,13)
NEXT [3
FOR I3-1 TO ¥C
WRITE#1,"Variable cost:",13,CVUIIT 13}
NEXT [3
NEXT Ti
FOR [3-1 TO D
WRITE#1,"Name of asset:" ASSTSU3)
WRITE#RI,."RBY:" RBV(l3),"Lifo:” LIFES)
WRITE#1,"Salvage:” SALIL3)
NEXT [3
CLOSE 1
GOTO 1410

REM “2 RILE READ ROUTINE ***
PRINT CHRS{12):
INPUT “Name of file to read": NS
OPEN “I”, 1NS
ENPUT#I DMY8,TS
PRINT:PRINT TS:PRINT:INPUT "OK {(Y/N)":Q9
IF Q8<>"Y" AND Q$<>"y" AND QR<>"" THEN CLOSE 1:0TO 210
INPUTS) DMY$,T. DMYS,P,DMYS.PCDMY8 VC DMY8,)
FOR [3-1 TO FE
INPUT#HL, DMYS, DMYS, CFSUS)
NEXT [3
FOR [981 TO VC
INPUT #1,DMYS,DMY$,CVS(13)
NEXT 13
POR li-t TO P
INPUT#1, DMYS.PNS(U1)DMYS.GR(E}DMYS.PIROTOMYS SAC. 1
FOR 13-1 FO FC
INPUT#1,.DMYS, DMYS,CFOI 13)
NEXT 13
POR 1 TO VC
INPUT#1,DMY$,DMYS,CVUU1,13]
NEXT 13
NEXT £1
FOR 13-1 TO DB
INPUT#). DMYS.ASSTS(J3). DMYS,. REVS), DMYS, LIFEUS1.DMYS.SALIE3}
NEXT 13
CLOSE 1

REM =" CALCULATE SALES AND REVENUE FIGUHES 7°
PRINT CHRS{26);" CALCULATING — ~
FOR T1=1 TO P
RECT UeSAQ1,1b " PROD)
FO [2-2 TO T
SAUHL.23 = SA(1.12-1) * GREE
REQ1,[2) - SA(I1,12} * PRM)
NEXT [2
NEXT 11

REM *** CALCULATE FIXED COSTS ***
FOR H=1 TO P
SCFEH)-0
FOR [3-1 TO FC
SCPUD<SCFIII+CF(E 13)
NEXT 13
NEXT Li

REM ee* CALCULATE VARIADLE COSTS ***
FOR IL = 1 TO P
FORK [3 = 1 TO VC
FOR [2 - 1 YO T
CV(QM,I3.12) « CVU(11.13) * SAd1,12)
NEXT f2
NEXT J3
NEXT V1
POR T1-2 TO P
FOR [2-1 TO T
SCV(11, [2)}-0
FOR 13-1 TO Ve
SCVUILJ2j-SCV(L1 22) + CV(TI13 12}
NEXT [3
NEXT [2

NEXT {1
REM *"" CALCULATE NET INCOME BEFORE TAX ***
FOR 1-1 FO P

FOR [2-1 TO T

capabilities with graphics and the ability
to manipulate data such as dates.
However, the market leader is a product
called Lotus |-2-3, which has blazed a trail
by demonstrating that ease of use is not
necessarily incompatible with a full set of
powerful features. The 1-2-3 spreadsheet
offers a full range of arithmetic, scientific
and financial functions (net present value,
internal rate of return, and so on), as well
as allowing the user to graph data and
print it on a wide range of printers and

PCS IN MARKETING

plotters.

The major objection to such spread-
sheet programs is that their operation is
hidden beneath the surface, and the user
sees only the results and not the formulae
which give rise to them. This becomes
much more dangerous when an internal
consultant, for example, develops a model
and then hands it to a user without adequ-
ate documentation of its internal opera-
tion and, most importantly, the assump-
tions it makes. Models constructed in

programming languages can be doc-
umented within the program, but spread--
sheets are difficult to document internally,
particularly if presentation-quality results
are required.

Even in the simplest spreadsheets, it is
bad practice to embed assumptions, such
as growth rates, discount rates and so on,
inside formulas. It is better to place magic
numbers in a cell by themselves, perhaps
in an ‘assumptions’ section of the sheet, }
and labelled so that they can be easily

1780 NIB(L1,(2) ~ REE,f2)) SCRIIT) - SCV(LE.12)

2500 PRINT “PTPC;":FOR [2 - 1 TO T:PRINT USING A$; NIB(I1,[2):NEXT [2:PRINT

1790 NEXT 12,11 2510 NEXT 1)

1800 . 2520 PRINT

1810 REM eee CALCULATE DEPRECIATION *** 25:10 REM *¢° TOTAL INCOMEPRINT SECTION ***

1826 FOR I1-1 TO D:FOR [2 - 1 TO T:DUT1,12}-0:NEXT 12.11 2540 PRINT “TIBT".:RFOR 12 ~ 1 TO T:PRINT USING AS:TIBT(I2).:NEXT I2:PRINT

1830 FOR 11 = 1 TOD 2550 PRINT

1840 IF LIPEWVL) < T THEN L{M ~ LIFE(I1) ELSE LIM ~ T 2560 REM *22 DEPRECIATION PRINT SECTION ***

16568 §=FOR [2 = 1 TO LIM 2570 PRINT “Depreciation:”

1860 Dit1.12} = (RBV(11)-SAL(11))/LEPEU1) 2580 FOR 1) - 1 TO D

1870 «©606NEXT 12 2590 PRINT ASSTSIII}."RBV ~ S":RBV(LI)" SAL ~ S°;SALAII)" Life - “:LIFIQ1)

1880 NEXT 11 2600 PRENT “Deduction:",:FOR [2 = 1 TO T:PRINT USING A$: DUII12):NEXT i2: PRINT

1890 . 2610 NEXT FI

1900 REM **® CALCULATE TOTAL DEPRECIATION *** 2620 PRINT “Total Dep.:";FOR 12 = 1 TO T:PRINT USING AS:TLME2Z):NEXT [2:PRINT

1910 FOR 12 =~ 1 TO T 2630 PRINT

120 0©=©=6 TD2)-0 2640 REM #e8 TAXABLE INCOME PRINT SECTION *=*

1930 FOR lI ~1TOOD 2650 PRINT “Taxable Inc.:*,:FOR [2 = ] TO T:PRINT USING AS:TI{I2):NEXT 12:PRINT

1940 TDW2) — TO12) + Di1t,12} 2660 PRINT

19500 NEXT II 2670 REM *e* TAX PAYABLE PRINT SECTION ***

1960 NEXT I2 2680 PRINT “Tax Payable:”.:FOR [2 = 1 TO T:PRINT USING AS:T(i2).:.NEXT 12:PRINT

1970 2690 -

1980 REM "8" TOTAL INCOME CALCULATION *°** 2700 REM =e® NIAT PRINT SECTION ***

1690 FOR i2~1] TO T 27106 PRINT “NIAT:".:FOR L2 ~ 1 TO T: PRINT USEING AS;NI1(E2).:NEXT 12:PRINT

2000 8 TIBTIE2)-0 2720 END

2010 FOR 11-1 TO P 2730 INI’'UT “Name of fite to print to”:08

2020 TIBT(IZ}-TIBT(E2)+NIBIi 12) 2740 OPEN "O".1,Q8

2030 NEXT 11 2750 AS — “SSaaneawn."

20:10 NEXT 12 2760 BS - "RANKNHHHREA”

2050 . 2770 REM PRINT SALES AND KREVUNUE FIGURES

2060 REM “ee TAXABLE INCOME CALCULATION *** 2780 FOR El-1 TO P: PRINT#],” ”

2070 FOR (2-1) TO T:TUI2I-O:NEXT I2 2791 «=PRINT#I, “Product";11:". "sPNS(I1, "Growth rate - ‘CRM 1)

20860 FOR [2-1 TO T 2800) «=PRINTSI, “Price:".:FOR [2-1 TO T:PRINT#L. USING AS. PRIEDGCNEXT (2:PRINTE],”

2090 | |—- THIZ)-TIBTiWL2} - TBT2) 2810 PRINT#). “Voiume: "=BOR J2°1 TH) T:PRIST#I, USING BS: SALT IZLINEXT 12. PRINTSE.”
2100 NEXT Iz 2820 PRINT#1, "Revenue:"“FOR l2-1 TO T:PRINTH), USING AS-REGLIZLNEXT 12:;PRKINT#1,” ~
2110 . 2030060 PRINT#1," ”

2120 REM ees TAX CALCULATION ®*° 2840 REM *** PRINT COSTS ROUTINE ***

2130 FOR [2-1 TO T 2650 PRINT#1, “Fixed Costs:*

2140 |= - Ti2)~THL2)*.46 2860 FOR 13 = 1 TO FC

2150 «=F T(f2} < 0 THEN T(I2) ~- 0 2870 PRENT#1, CPS(13),:FOR [2-1 TO T:PRINTH1, USING AS: CFU I3L:NEXT i2:PRINT#1," °
2160 NEXT 12 2300 4 =NEXT [9

2170 : 2890 PRINTHL, “Total:”:FORK 12 - I TO T:PRINTH1, USING AS: SCRUL):NEXT [2:PRINT#I,” °
2180 REM “#3 NIAT CALCULATION ®*" 2900 «= PRINT1," *

2180 FOR [2 - 1 TO T 2910 PRINT, "Variablo Costa:"

2200) «= NI{I2) = TIBT(2) TtT2) 2920 FOR [3 - I TO VC

2210 NEXT J2 2920 PRINT#L, CVS{I9):FOR [2 =~ 1 TO T!PRINT#1, USING AS: CVI11.139,12) :NEXT E2:PRINTA1.”
22e0 : 2940 NEXT 13

2230 REM eee SELECT OUTPUT DEVICE "** 2950 «= PRINT#1, "Total:",:FOR 12 - 1 TO T:PRINT#1, USING AS: SCV(IL.[2):NEXT 12:PRINT#1.”
2240 ENPUT “Calculations dene. Print to Screen (S$) or Disk (D)";AS 2960 PRINT#1," ”

2250 IF AS - “D” OR AS ~ "d° THEN 27230 297006 REM #28 PRINT PROFIT CONTR)BUTION °**

2260 . 2980 «= PRINT#1, “PTPC:*:FOR I2 ~ | TO T:PRINTA#I. USING AS: NEIBU112).:NEXT i2:PRINT#1,"
2270 AS — “SSHHRAH HH." 2990 NEXT 11

2280 BS — “WHHHWHHHR MA” 1600 PRINT#1," *

2290 REM PRINT BALES AND REVENUE FIGURES 3010 EM #8" TOTAL INCOME PRINT SECTION ***

2300 FOR Li-1 TO P: PRINT 3020 PRINT#), “TLBT",:FOR I2 = 1 TO T:PRINTA1, USING AS:TIBT(IZ).:NEXT [2:PRINT#1," ~
2310) = PRINT “Product";11;"- *:PNS(11).°Growth rate — ‘;GIUT1) 3030 PRINT#1,” "

2320) 3=9PRINT “Price:”,:FOR 12-1 TO T:PRINT USING AS; PRIT1).:.NEXT 12:PRINT 2040 REM #29 DEPRECIATION PRINT SECTION *"*

23300 PRINT "Volumo: * FOR I2-1 TO T:PRINT USING BS: SA(I1.12),:NEXT 12: PRINT 3050 PRENT#), “Depreciation.”

2340 PRINT “Revonue:" FOR [2-1 TO T:PRINT USING AS;RE(11,12) :.NEXT 12:PRINT 3060 FOR 11 - 1 TOD

2350 PRINT 3070) «=6oPRINT#I, ASSTS(L1).°RBV - S°;RBVII1:" SAL ~ S°;SAL(11):" Life SLIFRUU

2160 REM eee PRINT COSTS ROUTINE °** 3080 4«©60PRINT#Hi, “Deduction:”.:;FOR [2 - 1 TO T:PRINTH1, USING AS; BOI,12),:NEXT 12: PRENT#1," ~
2370 = PRINT “Fixed Casta:" 1090 NEXT 1)

2380 FOR [3 ~ 1 TO FC 3100 PRINT#1, “Total Dep." ;POR f2 - 1 TO T:PRINT#I, USING AS:TINI2):NEXT 12:PRINT#1,." °
2390 PRINT CFSII3),:FOR 12-1 TO T:PRINT USING AS; CP(11.13),:NEXT [2:PRINT 3110 PRINT#1," *

2400) )3«=—NEXT 13 1120 REM wer TAXABLE INCOME PRINT SECTION *"*

2410 «=9PRINT "Total:",:POR 12 ~ 1 TO T:PRINT USING AS: SCPUT1):NEXT 12:PRINT 3130 PRINT#1, “Taxeble Inc,:".;FOR [2 - [| TO T:PRINT#], USING AS:TII2),:NEXT 12:PRINT#I,”
2420 PRINT 3140 PRINT#}," °

2430 PRINT "Variabla Costs:" 3150 REM #“*" ‘TAX PAYABLE PRINT SECTION ***

2440 FOR 13 - 1 TO VC 3160 PRINTW1, “Tax Payabla:’,:FOR 12 - 1 TO T:PRINTAI, USING AS:TII2).:NEXT [2:PREINTSI,”

2450 PRINT CVS(I3),:FOR 12 - 1 TO T:PRINT USING AS; CVII1,13.12].:NEXT J2:PRINT 3170 .

2460 NEXT 13 3180 REM "ee NIAT PRINT SECTION °**

2470) «= PRINT “Total:",;FOR 12 - 1 TO T:PRINT USING AS; SCV(11,12) :NEXT 12:PRINT 3190 PRINT#I, “NIAT:":FOR 12 = 1 TO T: PRINT#@1. USING AS; Ni{l2):NEXT [2:PRINTW#1.”
2480 =6PRINT 3200 CLOBE 1

2490 KEM *8" PRINT PROFIT CONTRIBUTION °** 3210 END

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identified and changed. However, identify-
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culator, and this can be reduced to a few
hours with a PC. Since budgeting is faster
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cycle from annual to quarterly in many
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Spreadsheets are more accurate than
hand calculations. They also offer the
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avoided with some awareness and care.
Firstly, many budget or forecast models
tend to lose touch with reality. For exam-
ple, we assume a constant increase in
sales of 10 per cent per quarter, rather than
using our experience of seasonal varia-
tions to adjust the sales accordingly, simp-
ly because it makes the spreadsheet easier
to manage.

Oversimplifications like these are com-
mon, and they tend to multiply throughout
a model, so that the aggregation of incor-
rect assumptions renders the result tobe
more of a wish-fulfilment than a realistic
budget. There is also a tendency to reach
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References

Sweeney, Allen and John Wisner |r, Budget-
ing Fundamentals for Nonfinancial Executives

and Managers, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1977. 1

117

STRUCTURED PROGRAMMING

HOW TO WRITE A STRUCTURED
PROGRAM — Part Seven

WE HAVE NOW almost reached the end of
our first ‘meaningful’ structured program
example. As promised in the last article,
we now tackle the final module PutFile.
The function of this module is to write out
the appropriately formatted name and
address record to file #2 (the user's output
file).

The PutFile Module
On calling this module certain variables
have been established. These are:

i: the title index (in the range 2 to 10).
nmsS: the name of the recipient (with
initials).

numbers: the house number.

stS: the street name.

subS: the suburb and postcode.

Each of these fields must now be written
to file #2 with a fixed record layout, as
shown in Table 1.

Before launching into the logic of Put-
File, here are a few points about using
formatted output with BASIC.

Many BASIC dialects support a ‘print
using’ statement; the IBM Advanced
BASIC is no exception. The only problem is
that there’s not much agreement between
the various BASICs about how the state-
ment works. Each implementor seems to
do his or her own thing. Fortunately, we
don't need to get bogged down with too
much detail here, since all we want to do is
output a string left-justified in a field of
predetermined width. Here’s how we do it
with Advanced BASIC. The statement:

PRINT #2, using “ ";somethingS
will output the contents of the string
somethings to file #2. It will be left-
justified in a field of width determined by
the ‘format’ string specified after the
keyword ‘using’. In this case, the format
string says the field is four characters wide.
The format string itself is four characters
long. It consists of spaces with a” at the
beginning and end. These ’ characters
(some folk call them ‘sloshes’ to disting-
uish them from ‘/ — the ‘slash’) are in-
cluded in the field width count.

Because we'll be using variations on this
statement to output the various fields,
we'll use another subroutine to do the

118

Contents Characters

Title 8
Initials 7
Surname 22
House Number 7

Street Name 20
Suburb 15
Postcode 4
Filler |

Table I.

work for us. However, that subroutine will
need to know (a) what has to be output,
and (b) how many characters are to be
output. These are the ‘parameters’ which
we must ‘pass’ to the subroutine. In more
civilised languages, the syntax allows for
the GOSUB (or ‘call’) to be followed by a
bracketed list of parameters. In poor old
BASIC, we must decide on some suitable
(global) variable names, then set them up
before calling the subroutine. We will use
OutLength to specify the field width, and
Fld$ to contain the string to be output.
(BASIC objects to FieldS as an identifier).
The subroutine which does the deed will
be FieldOutput.

The design for PutFile then becomes
quite simple. The toughest part will be
splitting out the initials and surname from
nmsS. But that's not too bad, since we de-
cided earlier to insist on all initials being
crammed up together with a space preced-
ing the surname. Thus, we can hunt for the
space within nm&S, using its position to
mark the break between initials and sur-
name. This task will be relegated to the
module SetInits, which uses nm$ to set the
initials (complete with intervening spaces)
into IS, and the surname into nm&.

The fields must be output in the correct
sequence, so we begin with the eight-
character title from aS(i-I). You will recal]
that i is now one greater than the index
needed for the title array aS. Accordingly,
the following set of statements will do the
trick:

OutLength = 8: FldS = aS{i-1): GOSUB
FieldOutput

This is.the first line in the PutFile flow-

block in Figure |. Getting the GOSUB
at the end of the line might be a bit tricky
—— at least it is with the current version of
Speedit. One normally uses the F8 key to
create the GOSUB call; however, this in-
sists the GOSUB starts at the leftmost col-
umn of the current block. To pop the
GOSUB at the end of a string of other
statements, as shown above, you simply
position the cursor at the end of those
statements, then delete the terminating
Carriage return with a Control G {as per
Wordstar). The GOSUB statement will then
be pulled back to the end of the line.

Be careful never to follow a GOSUB
statement with another statement on the
same line. This is because the translator
always puts a comment after the GOSUB in
the source code, and that comment would
obscure the remaining code.

Next in Line

The second line in PutFile calls the SetInits
module. As explained above, this module
sets up the initials field in I$ and the sur-
name in nmS. We will examine how this is
done below. For the time being we follow
the ‘structured programming’ practice of

deferring the problem for later solution.

More properly, this is known as ‘deferring
to the next level of abstraction’. Whatever
you call it, it amounts to putting off for
later what you can’t handle now.

This is a perennial problem for program-
mers. [t's so rewarding to develop some
really obscure and complex piece of cod-
ing — especially if it works. There is there-
fore always the temptation to make mod-
ules needlessly complex. Pity the poor
programmer whose job it is to rework that
code at a later date — and pity the author
when it turns out to harbour a sneaky
gremlin. The rule is KISS — Keep It Simple,
Stupid.

Now IS and nm§ are set up, lines 3 and 4
of PutFile output these values using the
FieldOutput module. Similarly, lines 5 and
6 deal with writing out the house number
(from numberS) and the street name (from
stS).

The variable sub$ consists of the suburb
name trailed by a space, then the four-

character postcode. The expression in line

T:

STRUCTURED PROGRAMMING

leftS(subS,len(sub$)-5)
is simply subS with the last five characters
chopped off; in other words, it's the sub-
urb. This line therefore writes out the sub-
urb field. We've put the GOSUB on the next
line because the flowblock is getting a bit
too wide.

The next two lines deal with the post-
code, as this is in right$(sub$,4). Finally,
we output a single blank to the output file
(the filler byte).

Incidentally, this last line was done ex-
plicitly rather than by means of the Field-
Output module. You'll see why if you study
the logic of that module (Figure 3).

The Setinits Module
Now take a look at SetlInits in Figure 2.

Remember nm§ holds the addressee’s
name. The initials have no separating
spaces, and one space separates the ini-
tials from the surname which follows. Line
| of this module Jocates that separating
space, then adds | to it to mark the posi-
tion of the start of the surname. If for some
reason the name contains no space char-
acter, the INSTR function will return azero,
and the marker k would be 1.

This is tested in line 2. If true, the initials
field IS is set to a single blank, and n$
remains unaltered. This allows the odd
surname without prefixed initials to pass
unscathed. It also takes care of the case
where nm$ is empty.

Generally, it will be the ELSE branch
which is executed. It begins by setting IS
equal to a string of zero length (the ‘null
string’), then appending each of the k-2
initials plus a separating blank. Since each
pass through the FOR loop adds two char-
acters to I$, the final length of IS will be
2(k-2). We get rid of the final trailing blank

PutFile

Sometimes we realise a
little late that part of the
module we are currently
creating should really
have been handled by a
separate subroutine. All is
not lost.

from IS by taking the leftmost 2k-5 charac-
ters only.

Finally, the last line of Setinits replaces
the contents of nmS with the surname
string only. The expression midS(nm$§,k) is
the string starting at position k of nmS and
continuing to the end of the string. Re-
member we set k equal to the starting
position of the surname in nmsS in line I.

The FieldOutput Module

Figure 3 shows the FieldOutput module.
This is really just a ‘convenience’ mod-

ule; it saves us from repeatedly rewriting

the same lines of code. It also reduces the

chances of transcription error.

Abstraction and Attachment

The idea of ‘abstraction’ was introduced
earlier in this article; in principle, it simply
means the practice of relegating some of
your code to another module. You then
invoke (call with GOSUB) that module
when you need it. This means when you
decide to create such an abstracted mod-
ule, you must also-provide a definition.
That definition must give sufficient detail
to enable you to write the hecessary code
when you come to create that module: this

SetInits

is why Speedit’s F8 key asks you for both
the name and short definition of the new
module. The short definition appears on
the bottom line of the screen while you're
writing the new flowblock, and acts as a
reminder of what the module has to do.

Sometimes we realise a little late that
part of the module we are currently creat-
ing should really have been handled by a
separate subroutine. All is not lost.
Speedit provides two ‘abstraction’ com-
mands. The Control-B ( f B) command will
abstract a block, and the Control-P (7 P)
command abstracts a pile. This means you
can isolate either a single block or a group
of blocks (a pile) and have them replaced
by a single GOSUB reference. The replaced
code will wind up elsewhere as a new mod-
ule. Both these commands ask you for the
name of the new module, as well as the
short definition.

The reverse process is ‘attachment’: it
may be that you want to replace a single
GOSUB reference with the lines of code
from the called module. Speedit’s Alt-A
command does just that. It’s there for
those who need it, but if you organise your
work with a degree of common sénse
you're not likely to use it.

A word of warning about attachment. If
there are any other GOSUB references to
the attached module, they will fall over
during the translation stages. This is be-
cause the Alt-A command whips away the
called module, placing it where the
GOSUB statement was located. As a resuit
there would be no module of that name in
the program.

Finally, when using Alt-A the GOSUB
reference must be on a single line of its
own, otherwise Speedit will beep an error
message. C)

OutLenoth = 8: Fld = aS(i-1): *Position of surname start
GOSUB SetInits

= 73 Flid@G® = I%¢ Gosub FieldOutput

2S: Fids = nm$: Gosub FieldOutput

7:1 Fld® = numbers: Gosub FieldOutput

Gosub FieldOutput

left$ (subs, len (subs) -5)

Gosub FieldOutput k=instr (nm$," "+t

20: FldS = sts

15: Fids
Gosub FieldOutput
OutLength = 4: Fid# = right (subs, 4)
Gosub FieldOutput
print #2," "+ "The filler bvte

1$=1$+mids(nm$,n,1)4+" “

rem length of I% is now 2k-4
I$=left$ (1%, 2*k-5)

nms = mid$ (nms, k) :Rem Surname

Figure | (above). The PutFile module is responsible for sending the name and
address information to the output file. Figure 2 (top right). Setlnils sets up
the initials fieldin IS and the surname in nmS from the data in nmS. Figure 3.
FieldOutput does a formatted write operation lo file #2.

FieldQutput

print #2,using \ "+epaces (QutLength-2)+"\";Flass |

1i9

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BY JOHN NICHOLLS

All Open And Above Board

Just when you thought you had your Lotus
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The wraps have come off Aboveboard, a
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could use more memory; not many people
had thought about an upper limit as high
as 640 Kbytes. Most users of spreadsheets
now utilise only a small portion of the

ak
1

commands and memory available to them,
while the so-called power users build more
complicated spreadsheets too big to fit in
the space available.

Naturally, you don't get this expanded
memory for nothing. The recommended
retail price for the bare bones Aboveboard
is $685, not including tax or memory chips.
To attain memory in the multiple Mbyte
range you need 256 Kbyte chips, which are
more expensive than the same memory
using 64 Kbyte chips. The other catch is
you have to upgrade to a new version of
]-2-3 or Symphony to use Aboveboard.

Symphony — Release |.1

Everything about Release |.! is bigger: it
can use up to 4 Mbytes of memory; it can
store more in its files; it requires 384
Kbytes of RAM; and it costs $1095. Howev-
er, all the other news looks good.

In the previous version memory was
allocated for each cell in the rectangle de-
fined by the top left and bottom right cor-
ners, whether there was any data in the last
columns or not. Now the data is stored “...
in a different manner. Unused cells do not
tie up unnecessary memory and data can
be stored anywhere on the worksheet.”
While this is good news for power users,
using the large worksheets now available
means it’s essential to map your work-
sheet in order not to get lost.

More good news: the new version sup-
ports the 8087/80287 maths processor
chips, which should dramatically speed up
the re-calculation of large worksheets.

One of the failings of Release | of Sym-

“fh

a?

we

* Superb print quality
* Choice of six eypestyine)
* Electronic editing
* Full-page memory
* Automatic functions
* Complete portability

Canon

The touch of perfection.

LOTUS HOTLINE

phony is the way you have to search
through two or three manuals because
basic and advanced points are scattered at
random. I haven't seen the new manuals,
but I'm encouraged by the way Lotus has
gone about fixing the other problems.

Compatibility

In Release 1 you could use 1-2-3 files in
Symphony, but couldn't go from Sym-
phony to [-2-3. Lotus says "1-2-3 releases
1A and IA* and Symphony releases 1.0
and 1.01 files will be able to be read by
Symphony 1.1. 1-2-3 release 2 files will be
interchangeable with Symphony 1.1”.

If you have an earlier version of Sym-
phony you can trade it in for $195, which is
probably a reasonable price, especially if
the manuals are an improvement.

1-2-3 Release 2

Much of what I've said about the new ver-

sion of Symphony also applies to the new

version of 1-2-3; it will use Aboveboard

with up to 3 Mbytes of memory, it stores

data in the same efficient manner, it can

use the maths co-processor chip, and it

costs $835. I-2-3 Release 2 will come later

than Symphony 1.1, and I have less in-

formation about it. However, the following

has been announced:

@ Release 2 will read Release JA and ]A*
files and macros.

m Files will be interchangeable with Sym-
phony 1.1.

m™ You can access DOS from inside 1-2-3.

™ The worksheet can be 256 columns by
8192 rows. >

EA TYPING

STAR

anytime,
any where

123

DO IT BETTER:

CUSTOMER
FILE

INVOICE

INVOICE
LINE FILE |

=
&/

PRINT INVOICE

The above diagram converts directly to a WORKING META-5g/
application with less than ONE DAYS work by an experienced user.

Full System (Single-User, MS-DOS)
Full System (Multi-User, MS-DOS)
ALTOS XENIX {Multi-User System)

Full System (Multi-User, Micromation MP/M)
Single-User Support (Optional) ....... 2... c eee e eee eee eee e ees
Multi-User Support (Optional) ........... 20.0. ee ewer AS p.a. $300.00
Upgrade from Original META4 to METASGL

Original META4 for 8-Bit CP/M (Upwards compatible) ..........

vicesess pa. $150.00

ao. ee S| ERG

wy “SYSTEM

4 LX SOLUTIC INSi

C) INCORPORATED IN VICTORIA.
28-30 Palmerston St., Berwick, Vic. 3806. @ (03) 707 2851

META-5gl is a powerful new way of
getting things done with your
computer.

@ Because of it's power you can make
better applications.

@® META-5gl is a Non-Procedural 5GL
(Fifth-Generation Language)
Application Generator based on the
ENTITY-RELATIONSHIP model.

@ Multi-User and Run-Time Versions
are available for MS-DOS, MS-DOS
Networks and XENIX.

@ Context-Sensitive On-Line Help
® All Documentation on-line.

@ Data-Base Oriented with Data
Dictionary, Referential Integrity,
Transaction logging, Full Security,
Field-Level! Sensitivity.

@ Two Report Generators.

@ Menus and Screens Generated
automatically.

@ Device-independent Screen support
including COLOUR.

@ Runs on all MS-DOS & XENIX
machines, including |BM-PC/XT/AT
and compatibles, NEC-APC3, Olivetti-
M24, WYSE-1000, APRICOT,
HP-150, ICL-36, etc. Multi-user runs
on MS-DOS networks, concurrent
PC-DOS, XENIX and MICROMATION
MP/M.

Application of the month!

JEWEL — Retail Jewellers
system. Invoices, Duty-Free,
stock, Cash-draw UNIXBUILT
(03) 561 1275.

BANKCARD, AMEX,
VISA accepted.

VISA

™ You can perform regression analysis.

w You can change date and time formats,
presumably in the same way as you now
can in Symphony.

So far everything I've said relates to soft-
ware for the IBM PC; now for some news
from Hewlett-Packard.

Lotus planned to ship its new release of
Symphony in July. Hewlett-Packard had ex-
pected to be the first company to offer the
new release of Symphony for a non-IBM
compatible PC, but says the product first
needs extensive testing and won't be avail-
able for two to three months after the IBM
version.

On the Hewlett-Packard Touchscreen
Symphony will have four types of touch:
softkey, menu, file/application and zoom
(when you touch the middle of a window it
expands to fill the screen).

Hewlett-Packard will ship only the new
version of Symphony (release I.1} for the
Touchscreen PC family, and is currently
investigating the possibility of offering an
extended memory similar to Intel's
Aboveboard. The new version of Sym-
phony for the Touchscreen will incorporate

NEW

AP650 DAISY WHEEL

PRINTER

all the other enhancements, such as 8087

support, a more efficient memory manage-
ment system, and improved user docu-
mentation and installation procedures.

Symphony for the Touchscreen PC will
require 384 Kbytes of RAM and will sup-
port Laserjet, Thinkjet and all other Hew-
lett-Packard peripherals.

Questions And Answers

Q: How do | use my software with Laserjet?
A: Reset the printer by doing an ESC E
(refer to your computer manual for in-
formation regarding the sending of escape
sequences}. This places all features to the
default conditions (a known state). Refer
to Section IV of the Laserjet Owner's
Manual for information on the feature ac-
cess.

Q: In Lotus, I'm using ‘setup strings’ to
print a spreadsheet using a Jandscape
compressed font: the spreadsheet printed
well. | then graphed the spreadsheet and
did a screen dump from the Hewlett-
Packard 150. Why did the spreadsheet
print while the graph did not?

NEW

NP2200 DOT MATRIX

PRINTER

a .
Ce

=A ee ;
ANG =

AE
a

Aa:

AE355

A: The printer was still in landscape mode
when the screen dump was done. You need
to send an ESC E to reset the printer to
default conditions or return to portrait
mode by sending the following escape
sequence: ‘ESC&100’. If landscape mode is
required, use the printgraph feature of
Lotus (you may have to re-position the
logical cursor of the Laserjet before print-
ing}. The screen dump graphics capability
from Lotus can't be done in landscape
mode.

Q: In Lotus, how do I print in landscape
compressed mode on a legal-size sheet of
paper?

A: In the setup string of Lotus send the
following string: 027E027 & 184 plo 2H027
& k2S. This sends a reset to the printer,
sends a page length of 84 lines (at 6 lines
per inch on 14-inch Jegal paper), sets the
orientation of the character set to land-
scape, sets the printer in manual form
mode, and selects compressed print (16.66
Cpi).

Q: Is Laserjet supported on Symphony?
A: Yes, but it is not supported on the Hew-
lett-Packard 150. Oo

NEW
ELECTRONIC
TYPEWAITER/PRINTER

wg TYPEWRITER/PRINTER

AE-355 ELECTRONIC trom

AP-650 DAISY WHEEL PRINTER trom pe
il \ te NAKAJIMA ALL CO.,LTD.

NP-2200 DOT MATRIX PRINTER trom
c? NAKAJIMA ALL CO., LTD.

Cr NAKAJIMA ALL CO., LTD.

@ AP-650 is rich in! functions of word processing, yet 8 NP: 2200 is a dot motrix printer with a 9-wires print
inexpensive, letter quality daisy wheel printer
© Both of parallel (Centronics campatible) and serial ® NP-2200 has wide capabilities and high petfarmance,

AE. 355 con meet the wider requirement of document creation.

® One Line Correction Memory © Auto Retum

@ Auto Centering © Paragraph Indent

®@ Decimal Tabulator ® ROM, RAM Self Diagnosis
® Auto Underscaring ® Memory Back-up far TAB &
MODEL: AE-355 MAR Position (far 14 days)
AE-355 has a built-in parallel interface [Centranics compatible).
AE-355 works os a daisy wheel printer in case it is linked

with o campuler

RS-232 interfaces as standard feature.

Paper feed is made by either friction or tractar.

Daisy wheel and ribbon cassete

3 pitch — 10, 12, 15, ® Printing speed is 165 cps.
® Bi-directionol ® Parallel (Centronix)

Complete coupon and enclose
payment to:

PROFESSIONAL
BUSINESS
MACHINES
PTY. LTD.

P.O. BOX 89 |
DOONSIDE NSW 2767

yel Inexpensive
In FINE made (17 x 17), for better printing quality is
ablained than in narmal mode (9 x 9).

Please send me AP650 @ $540.00 each

plus 10.00 for shipping and handling for each unit ordered.
| enclose cheque/money order/bank cheque for $

Please send me NP-2200 @ $535.00 each

plus 10.00 for shipping and handling for each unit ordered.
| enclose cheque/money order/bank cheque for $.

Please send me , AE355 «w $646.00 each

plus 10.00 for shipping and handling for each unit ordered.
| enclose cheque/money order/bank cheque for $.

pankeard LIL IE] DO) OOO UOOUOOO

Expires ..... oe,

Name
Address
Picode

Signature

125

Software

The Auditor and Bottomline V

Imagineering, (02) 212 141)

Price: $195, $345

Two business software packages
aimed at simplifying the use of
the IBM PC and the Apple Macin-
tosh computer: The Auditor is de-
signed to audit most spread-
sheets commonly used on the
}1BM PC and compatibles, includ-
ing Lotus !-2-3, Visicalc and Su-
percalc; Bottomline V consists of
a number of financial projection
templates. which can be used
with Multiplan, Lotus [-2-3 and
other spreadsheets to help plan
business appointments.

Beach-Head II

Imagineering, (02) 212 1411

Price: $34.95

Be a commander in the Allied
forces and take on a bloodthirsty,
power-crazed dictator, aptly
named the Dragon. Stryker’s task
is to free Allied prisoners held in
the Dragon's fortress, bring the
bad guys to their knees and re-
duce the fortress to rubble. One
or two players can get into the
action — all you need is a disk
drive and joysticks. The game in-
corporates voice synthesis, multi-
ple-play screens and play levels,
and sound effects.

Chit-Chat

Personal Computer Software,

(02) 923 2899

Price. $325

Three-in-one telecommunica-
tions software which enables the
microcomputer to file transfer be-
tween machines, remote file
transfer/access viewdata systems
like Viatel, and operate public
and private electronic mailbox
systems. Features include pass-
word security, telephone direc-
tory, on-line help facility, full-
screen text editor and time opera-
tion to save phone costs.

Commodore Games
Imagineering, (02) 212 [41]

Price: $29.95

Commodore 64 users have three
new games to master: in Rock ‘n
Bolt you area foreman who has to
build a 100-storey high-rise in re-
cord time: in Master of the Lamps
you side with a young prince ina
mystical land of genies, magic
carpets and magic lamps; and in

126

The Music Studio your joystick
will help you control computer
graphics and sound capabilities.
Available on 13 cm disks.

dBill Compiler

Wordtech Systems, (02) 254 0900
Price: $945

This package will compile a prog-
ram written in the dBase prog-
ramming language into a form
that will execute without either
dBase III or Runtime. While dBase
[It runs only on an IBM PCora 100
per cent compatible with 256
Kbytes of RAM, dBII! Compiler
produces code which can run on
any MS-DOS machine with 198
Kbytes of RAM. Compiled prog-
rams can work with both dBase }]
and dBase II] data files.

Level il COBOL

Arcom Pacific, (07) 52 9522

Price: $995

Digital Research has released a
two-pass compiler compatible
with IBM PC, XT, AT and PC3270
machines. The compiler gener-
ates 8086 native code and lets.
microcomputer users compile
and run programs written in full
ANS! '74 COBOL with minimal
source code modification.

Macsurf

Apple. (02) 888 5888

Price: $2000

No, it’s not a surfing simulation,
it's a surface modelling program
for the design of yacht and com-
mercial boat hulls, and sail and
surfboards. It allows three-
dimensional surfaces to be cre-
ated, manipulated and viewed,
quickly and easily. Macsurf re-
quires virtually no keyboard activ-
ity, as commands are chosen by
using the mouse to point to them,
and curves are also changed by
directing the movement of their
controlling points around the
screen with a mouse.

Microsoft Pascal (Version 3.3)
Microsoft, (02) 452 5088

Price: $525

Pascal is able to interface directly
with other Microsoft languages,
enabling programmers to link
Microsoft's newest products, in-
cluding FORTRAN, Pascal, Micro-
soft C and Macro Assembler. The
package includes a portion of the
Microsoft C library to support two
function calls. One is System,
which lets the user execute a DOS

NEW PRODUCTS

command without leaving the
current program; the other is
Spawn, which lets you load and
execute another program without
leaving the current program.

Microsoft Word, Microsoft File
Microsoft, (02} 452 5088

Price: $25 to upgrade

Microsoft Word and Microsoft
File for the Apple/Macintosh have
been upgraded to feature en-
hanced laser printer support.
Word features character formats
which toggle from the keyboard
anda convert utility feature which
allows Microsoft IBM Word docu-
ments to be converted to Macin-
tosh Word format and back again.
File features the ability to use
third-party fonts as well as the
standard system fonts in the ‘Set
Font’ dialogue box. Purchases af-
ter July [5 can be upgraded free.

Microsoft Xenix-286
Languages

Microsoft, (02} 452 5088

Price: $595, $1500, $850, $825
Microsoft has released Xenix ver-
sions of four high-level ian-
guages: BASIC, COBOL, FOR-
TRAN and Pascal, which share
compatibility between MS-DOS
and Xenix. This source-level com-
patibility makes it possible to
take programs written in a pre-
vious MS-DOS version of a lan-
guage and transport them to the
Xenix environment with little or
no modification. Programs can
also be downloaded from main-
frames to the Xenix environment.

Professional Flight Manager
Pittwater Distributors.

(02) 939 2858

Price: $400

For use on the Commodore SX-
64, Professional Flight Manager
gives the operator instant access
to computerised flight planning,
navigation, flight costing, fuel
analysis and route information.
The program maintains a data-
base of airports and related in-
formation for Australia, and addi-
tional airports can be added.
Routes and performance details
of different aircraft are stored as
disk files.

Micro-FCS

EPS Software Consultants,

(02) 439 3722

Price: $2500

A microcomputer version of the
FCS-EPS financial modelling sys-
tem, this package offers full-
screen editing, screen formatting
for menu creation, the ability to
construct user-defined functions
and commands, sensitivity analy-
sis and targeting, and the ability
to link external data.

Segaword i

John Sands Electronics,

(03) 645 3333

Price: $39.95

With this program and the
$C3000 keyboard, the operator
can enter text material to the
Sega, store it in memory and dis-
play it on the TV screen. Features
include scrolling and the ability
to send written material to the

printer for final copy or save it to
cassette tape for filing and stor-
age. The program is neatly pack-
aged in a black and silver casing
and includes a 32-page user's
manual.

Starbridge DOS

Imagineering, (02) 212 141)

Price: 569.95

A software package which takes
contro] of DOS in the IBM PC to
make using the operating system
easy, Starbridge DOS presents a
single screen divided into four
areas: a user-created menu for
automatically initiating up to
nine programs; a menu for chang-
ing system parameters and acces-
sing help; a menu of DOS com-
mands; and a box for input and
prompts.

Sytex-Timewise

Sybiz Software, (08)

Price: $345

Business people in particular will
appreciate this package, which
combines the Timewise desk
organiser with the Sytex word
processing system. The word pro-
cessor is pushbutton rather than
menu-controlled and provides
‘what you see is what you get’
operation. A built-in calculator, a
250-page phone directory, a per-
sonal diary, a message holder and
an alarm clock should keep busy
executives on the ball. MS-DOS,
PC-DOS or a compatible operat-
ing system and )28 Kbytes of
memory are required to run the
program.

Peripherals
and
Extensions

Daisy Junior

Fordigraph Rexel, (02) 647 2488
Price: $556 (excluding tax)

A compact daisywhee! printer for
all word processing functions, the
Junior is compatible with most
PCs, has a print speed of around
)3 characters a second and has
been tested to 2000 hours of con-
stant use without requiring a
single repair. A multi-copy fea-
ture enables the user to obtain
infinite copies of an original (just
what you always needed). The
Daisy lunior comes with a stan-
dard 7 Kbyte buffer, and will
accept either single-sheet or con-
tinuous stationery.

ES! Laserconnection

Interface Technology, (02) 438 2899
Price: $3770 (excluding tax)

A laser connection which inter-
faces the Hewlett-Packard 2686A
Laserjet printer to the IBM Dis-
playwriter system. Underline,
overstrike, superscript and sub-
script are all accessible, as are
italic fonts, bold, large and con-
densed print and the use of sever-
al fonts on the same document.
The connection includes a con-
troller with }28 Kbyte buffer, cabl-
ing and documentation. Interface
Technology has put together a

NEW PRODUCTS

special package — the Lasercon-
nection and printer for $8500 (ex-
cluding tax).

Facit 4513, 4514

EAI Electronic Associates,

(02) 427 3322

Price: $1200, $1500 (excluding
tax)

The 80-column 4513 and the | 32-
column 4514 matrix printers in-
clude-both IBM/Epson and Epson
FX command sets, making the un-
its compatible with a variety of
computers ranging from IBM PCs
to Unix supermicros. Print qual-
ities from near-letter-quality at 35
cps to high-speed draft at 160 cps
can be selected by the operator
via a switch on the control panel.
Printing at )0, 2 or 17 characters
per inch may be specified, as can
proportional printing.

Fluke 1780A Infotouch Display
Elmeasco, (02) 736 2888

Price: about $3700

A rack-mountable or standalone
computer terminal, the Infotouch

features a touch-sensitive screen,
with which even inexperienced
users can be directed through
complex procedures. In use, the
operator is presented with va-
rious options on the display
screen and responds by touching
the appropriate area of the
screen. Because the Infotouch
Display allows the human inter-
face to your system to be defined
in software, the interface can
easily be changed to match the
skill level of the user, or updated
when the system's capabilities
change.

IBM Controller Card

Technology Corporation of Australia,
(02) 46 4374

Price: $895

An American-made floppy disk
controller card designed for the
IBM PC and the PC XT has just
been released in Australia to en-
able IBM owners to access the
new types of drives that are now
on the market. The card contains
the software required for both for- >

TIRED OF...

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127

matting and operating the high-
density drives.

Laserwriter

Apple, (02) 888 5888

Price: $11,300

Apple’s powerful Laserwriter is
being bundled with the 512 Kbyte
Macintosh PC equipmeht and a
built-in Appletalk local area net-
work interface which allows con-
nection to up to 31 additional
workstations, enabling several
users to produce quality print-
outs.

PS-5150 Mass Storage
Subsystem

Electrical Equipment, (02) 699 9666
Price: $3246 (excluding tax)

The Teac PS-5150 is plug-
compatible with the IBM PC. This
single unit combines the SD 510
13 cm hard disk drive with the
MT-2ST digital casSette tape
streamer, offering a disk data
storage Capacity of 10 Mbytes for-
matted and |2.76 Mbytes unfor-
matted, with another 10 Mbytes

Full K&R C Compiler

Full ecen Editor
Execution Profiler ae

ae ee
eres
ee ee

ae ee
a ae
eee ee ee
oe ee ae
ee ee a ee
ee ee
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libraries
® ale

Sete ae ake Fe

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wot ee a
aoe ee ee a ee

aoe ee ee ke
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screen .
® Display C source du ae
execution

See eee

128

‘¢Truly amuraculous
package?
DeSmet C

The most cost effective

Development Package for C in Australia
[es LINK SUPPORT

The een Cre Tas
. Bow Wes

on tape. It can transfer 10 Mbytes
of data from disk to streamer in
two minutes.

Facit 5011, 5012
EAI Electronic Associates,

(02) 427 3322

Price: $560 (excluding tax)

These two numbers represent
new mechanical cut-sheet feed-
ers for use with the Facit 4511/1 3

Compuler Language - ub $5

GRAPHICS 5 ($65)
UTIL ($45)
HACKER ($45)

Contact

NEW PRODUCTS

(80-column) and 4512/14 (132-
column) printers. They're control-
led by standard LF and FF com-
mands, and thus require no soft-
ware changes when installed in
Facit printers. Both have a bin
capacity of 120 sheets and handie
both American quarto. and Euro-
pean Ad4 formats. Sheets can be
added during printing, and lids
make the feeders almost silent.

Qicstor Plus

Alloy Computer Products,

(03) 529 8455

Price: $7922 (excluding tax)

An integrated hard disk and tape
backup system for PC systems
which can be purchased in con-
figurations ranging from 20 to 128
Mbytes. Features include low ac-
cess time and error correcting
ability. Qicstor Plus can be added
to any MS-DOS or PC-DOS sys-
tem by plugging the interface
card into the computer's short
slot. The unit has its own power
supply sufficient for the subsys-
tems and any extra expansion
cards plugged into the unit.

Sharespool Expansion Board
Interface Technology of Australia.

(02) 887 2044

Price: $1260 with 64 Kbytes of
buffer memory

Sharespool, by Extended Sys-

tems of Idaho in the United

States, is an IBM PC or HP 150-
compatible expansion board with
buffer memory of up to 512
Kbytes. it consists of an adaptor
board with three connected
cables — one running to the se-
rial printer and the other two con-
nected to. parallel or serial ports
of two other computers. The
adaptor fits into an expansion
slot of the host [BM PC or HP 150,

allowing three PCs to share an
attached printer. Sharespoo!
doesn't use the host PC's proces-
sor to print output, managing all
printer queuing itself.

Smartmodem 1200/2400
Netcomm, (02) 498 5577

Price: $1249, $1985

Netcomm claims to be the first
Australian manufacturer to use
the DSP/IA modem chips in its
new high-intelligence modem.
The Smartmodem features auto-
matic speed and mode configur-
ation; that is, the modem can
automatically detect what speed
and mode are being used to
transmit data and adjusts itself
accordingly. Other benefits in-
clude automatic dialling, answer-
ing and disconnection; synchro-
nous and asynchronous trans-
mission; Austpac compatibility;
and audio/visual! control.

Teac SD-520

Electrical Equipment, (02) 699 9666
Price: Around $800

At a height of just over 4 cm, the
SD-520 is half the size of the con-
ventional 13 cm hard disk drive.
Features. include data storage of
20 Mbytes formatted, data trans-
fer rate of five megabits/second
and custom LSls. The MT-2ST
cassette streamer can be used as
backup memory and to expand
the flexibility and range of ap-
plications. The addition of the
SC-200 controller board enables
the hard disk drive to interface
with any sort of system.

TK-1000 Touch Sensor

Roycom, (02) 27 1054

Price: $1700 (excluding tax)
Ahigh-resolution touch-sensitive
screen available in 30 cm to 63.5
cm sizes in spherical, flat or round
unlts for most CRTs. It offers flex-
ibility for interactive communica-
tion, with a resolution of 250 by
250, so users can interact with a
wide variety of data processing
equipment.

Videotex Communications
Bundle

Apple, (02) 888 5888

Price: $795

This datamodem and software
bundle for the Macintosh repre-
sents a $100 saving on the cost of
the individual components. It
allows users to access Viate] in-

formation services and make >

5
7
Ml !
e
IN
Mit

More than

AUSTRALIAN

Simply stated... the
industry’s most powerful
application development

software is also the

easiest to use.

AVAILABLE ON: CP/M, CP/M-86, MP/M-86, MS-DOS,
PC-DOS, Molecular N-Star, Televideo Mmmost, Omninet,
TurboDOS, Novell ShareNet, PC-Net, DMS Hinet,

IBM ‘PC’ w/Corvus, OSM Muse.

3-COM, CCP/M-86, M/NET, DAVONG, X-NET

Ask us about our training courses

DEALER ENQUIRIES WELCOME

MI CRO C OMPUTER Please send me more information on Dataflex

™=\ SOLUTIONS

S
248 LATROBE TCE., GEELONG 3220
Telephone (052) 211-085 (052) 211-300

Name

Address

Postcode .............. Telephone

;

aS)
as

complete files of videotex trans-
missions or cut and paste from
videotex during transmissions.
Saved material can later be
edited as Macwrite documents.

New _
Machines

Concept 2000

Harris Lanier, (02) 957 6500
Price: $5106

An IBM-compatible PC with sing-
le-board design, this new
machine features a 35.5 cm
screen with tilt and swivel adjust-
ment and a keyboard with dual-
position height adjustment. The
package includes the MS-DOS
operating system, GW-BASIC and
user manuals.

Concept II

Harris Lanier, (02) 957 6500

The Concept Ill series of inte-
grated office equipment includes

n
Ne

EROS

iY SS

SoftE
, Ht
EASY TO INSTALL

screens Out VDU Glare
and Relieves Fatigue.

. q i wid
es ee
lt | ie

the 1100, 1200 and 1400 desktop
terminals; the 2000 IBM-
compatible PC; the 4000 server
and the 6000 server. This archival
retrieval service operates on
Xenix, allowing users to search up
to 5000 pages in less than 10
seconds. Xenix also provides
“aulti-user capability and gives
users access to Multiplan, In-
fomix and other Unix-based ap-
plication packages. Concept III
can be purchased as a ‘family’ or
as individual pieces.

Tandy 200

Tandy Australia, (02) 675 1222
Price: $1399

Tandy’s 200 is a second-
generation portable computer
with 16-line 40-character display
and six built-in programs, includ-
ing Multiplan.

Televideo AT

Data Peripherals, (02) 888 5733
Price. $6770 and $9090
{excluding tax)

Televideo has released two AT-

MP
a4

a

yr at
F ‘a E aerate

NEW PRODUCTS

model PCs aimed at the ‘power
user’ who is looking for greater
software processing speed and
disk operation, and increased
memory and storage capacity.
The systems are IBM PC/AT-
compatible, and come packaged
with a system model, keyboard
and high-resolution text and
graphics monochrome monitor.
The Model J is the entry-level sys-
tem with 256 Kbytes of RAM,
while the Model 2 includes 512
Kbytes of RAM and a 20 Mbyte
(formatted) Winchester disk
drive.

NCR PC4i

Logo Computer Centre,

(02) 819 6811

Price: mono $3550, colour
$3947 (excluding tax)

An IBM-compatible PC, the PC4i
has seven standard expansion
slots and memory expandable to
640 Kbytes. It comes with a high-
resolution (600 by 400) monitor
in monochrome or colour, the lat-
ter of which produces solid col-
ours rather than raster lines. The
machine also boasts a Separate
cursor and data entry pad, and is
able to interface with the NCR
Financial and Retail POS termin-
als, as well as other terminals us-

ing the NCR inhouse DLC com-
munications protocol.

VZ 300

Dick Smith Electronics,

(02) 888 3200

Price: $199

The VZ 300 computer is suitable
for beginners, and can be used
with a wide range of peripherals.
It comes with cables that will
allow it to be plugged into a tele-
vision, monitor or cassette recor-
der.

Services

Infosearch

IBM, (02) 234 5678

Price: Free!

An electronic help service which
enables IBM PC users to access a
database containing approx-
imately 4000 questions and
answers about the 1BM PC. In-
fosearch will be available free of
charge to every IBM PC userinthe
country either directly, through
the new technical co-ordinator
program, or through a dealer.
Technical co-ordinators and deal-
ers will be able to dial into the
service with the help of an !BM
PC, communications facilities

and a modem. Answers will
appear on the user's PC screen.

Goldengate Newsletter
Cullinet Software, (02) 957 3266
Goldrush is a quarterly newsletter

to keep users up-to-date with the

latest information on the Golden-
gate integrated PC software pack-
age, released in Australia last
November. The publication will
report the latest news, product
announcements and technical in-
formation concerning Cullinet’s
software. Users are invited to
submit questions, new proce-
dures, creative applications or
hints for publication in a regular
feature quaintly referred to as
‘Customer Corner

Furniture

Deskmate Keyboard Storage
Drawer

Computer Products Network

(02) 290 3100

Price: $99

The Keyboard Storage Drawer in-
corporates a built-in wristrest
and suits keyboards up to 508
mm by 240 mm by 70 mm. The
drawer pulls out and automati-
cally locks in an operating posi-
tion. It is-colour co-ordinated

with IBM hardware, and can be
fitted underneath desks. A sug-
gested application is on typewri-
ter credenzas where conventional
typewriters are replaced by word
processors.

Miscellaneous

Audio-Visual Computer
Training System

Learning Automation,

(02) 957 3235

Price: $395

A computer training system
which connects to your micro-
computer and provides synchro-
nised sight and sound lessons on
popular software packages such
as Wordstar, Multiplan, dBase II,
Lotus 1-2-3 and BASIC. Lessons
are also available on the NEC
APC Hl and iBM PC microcompu-
ters and operating systems.Other
packages are planned.

Disk Warranty

Verbatim, (02) 9929 881i

Price: $4.50, $5.50 for disks
Verbatim has announced a life-
time warranty on the 13 cm and
20cm Datalife floppy disks,
now packaged in a snap-lock
moulded box which locks in the
open position for easy access.

99 York Street, Sydney Telephone (02) 290 3100

Computers for Genealogy

Clark Consullants, (02) 427 5954
Price: $4.50

This booklet is a basic guide to
buying a computer for running
genealogical software. It also lists
historical databases which are on
computer and supplies
information on the Society of
Genealogist’s computer program
for indexing the contents of its
library.

Diskette Copier

Nashua, (02) 925 3111

Price: $10,500

This disk-duplicating system for-
mats, duplicates and verifies 20
cm, i3 cm and 9 cm disks. A large
hopper holds up to 80 disks and
provides automatic sorting. On-
screen prompts and visible out-
put bins allow the operator to
monitor progress at a glance. In-
terfacing requires two cables and
the software disk.

PAT-2+

Dabo Computer, (02) 958 1900
Price: $1795 (excluding tax)

A Dysan handheld performance
and alignment tester for 13 cm
and 20 cm disk drives with stan-
dard flat cables and power supp-
ly. The tester can be used for
other drive performance tests,
such as random seek, write/read
capabilities. format and verify

tracks and rewrite sectors. It can
also function as a simple drive
exerciser to position the drive
head when used with the ana-
logue alignment disk.

Programming Reference for
M68000 Family

Motorola, (02) 438 1955;

(03) 561 3555

Motorola has released a prog-
ramming pocket reference guide
and three programming reference
cards for the M68000 family. They
describe all instructions for the
MC68000, MC68008, MC68010
and MC68012. Each program-
ming reference card provides a
quick guide listing all instruc-
tions, addressing modes and
necessary tables for program-
ming and debugging.

Educational Software
Sourcebook

Tandy, (02) 657 1222

Price: $14.95

A reference manual to assist
teachers all round Australia to
source and locate software de-
signed specifically for classrooms
and school administration. It lists
more tnan 600 packages which
run On the various Tandy compu-
ters and provides a package de-
scription plus details of how the
packages can be purchased. O

[31

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Wi ey MANUFACTURERS”
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‘us on these come = 5. ae.

i iy , ry
@ L. Es : F fi . “ a! pits _ ‘
Hard Disk One. Asien
ar 18 2a | 5 7 S , i Word Processing
ze : casi” | + Perfect Writer 11 o.--essccccccessnreresnsee $ 265
asi B.S * Wordstar 2000+ ........sccccscsscescosecveves $ 495
& em S ees | ; — Mulinatenet ec: $ 455
eee ee ; es Worastar 2000 2.0.1... dursecsseisoseresuvewees $ 425
site ‘ _ Wordstar Propak ............2..cccececeeeeeeee $ 435
| | Wordperfect .........00-00000 wavessecse 9 450
IBM PC “XT” SYSTEM | Spreadsheets/Intergratcd Packages
al i ; EGU Se 3 eet te ee coo <oscceccocecacste secs $ 535 |
System unit with 256K RAM, 10Mb * Symphony -...-.sssssessssrssneetentersseeerses $ 685
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internal hard disk, serial and parallel | Framework s.cccsccssssesssssrcsessesevaseesceee, CALL
: DURUHDIATY, cscs ascenenes ss onc ORMeet onesie sersans $ 285
ports 360K drive, keyboard and high Haetvare Open Access 2... ve $ 695 |
resolution monochorme monitor. a .
Se : Printers Desktop Environments and Sundry
| Competitive Price: $5,250 NEC — P2 Pinwriter ..csaeueecs-22:0--.2..00 8 eee $ 955 | * Homebase (more features than Sidekick. $ 89
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Competitive Price: $5,155 Monitors e (Grosstalk .......0c.ccosseees =. cmmess enon => 000m $ 165
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NEC APC lil SYSTEM Hard Disk Drives Prokey Sigemiepe..-+s Ao a anal sai 5 185.00
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OUR PRI CE e $4 950 | AST Megaplus 6 Pack Multifunction ........... iced «<5 . $ 645 | Languages/Utilities
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Qubie ~ Six Pack ...............0.... eee eae ne meen $ 445 Concurrent CP/M 86 |.........-........ §$ 255.00
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BY JEFF RICHARDS

Automatic startup

The Bondwell has been set up to automati-
cally execute a program called Autorun
when switched on. Autorun displays the
names of executable programs from the
disk directory and prompts you for the
name of the program you wish to run.
While this is a useful facility, the automatic
startup can be enhanced to do other tasks
which would otherwise be a chore.

The first step is to abandon Autorun as
the default startup program, since CP/M 3
supports a more useful list of startup com-
mands. It operates with a program called
Submit, so you'll need the file SUBMIT-
COM on disk drive A, and one called PRO-
FILE.SUB, which contains the above-
mentioned system commands.

To sée how the facility can be used, con-
sider the things which have to be done to
start Wordstar. First the default disk drive
must be specified, then the special func-
tion keys initialised; sometimes the
keyboard has to be re-arranged slightly
and the system advised of which printer
port to use. With CP/M 3 all these tasks can
be done by the automatic startup com-
mand file.

Another important feature of CP/M 3 is
that it allows you to specify the sequence
in which drives are to be searched for files
when the operator (or a program) doesn't
specify the drive number as part of the
filename. This search sequence can be de-
fined using the SETDEF utility.

With a program like Wordstar the usual
arrangement is to keep a data disk with the
document files on it in drive B, and the
Wofrdstar program disk with other utilities
suchas PIP in drive A. If Wordstar is started
with Bas the default drive, files stored on B
don't have to be referenced with the 'B:’
prefix — Wordstar will attach a ‘B:’ to the
front of all data filenames for you. Howev-
er, the system can be told that all refer-
ences to a program should assume the ‘A:'
prefix, so they'll be searched for on the A
drive; the B drive will only be searched if
they aren't found on A.

SETDEF.COM is the utility which per-
mits you to do this. The command SETDEF
A:,B: tells the system that any requests for
files which don't have an explicit drive re-
ference — such as the requests Wordstar
will issue for its own overlay files — should
be resolved by searching drive A first, and

The automatic startup
can be enhanced to do
some additional tasks
which would otherwise be
a chore.

drive B only if the file can't be found. For
the command to work the program SET-
DEF.COM must of course be on the disk.

The next command in the startup sequ-
ence might be a program to initialise the
keyboard to a particular arrangement. For
instance, in Wordstar it’s convenient if the
shifted arrow keys are arranged to perform
the corresponding exaggerated cursor
movement. For éxample, the up-arrow can
move the cursor up one line while the
shifted/up-arrow will move it up one para-
graph. These functions can bé allocated
using the program published in the first
Bondwell column, and replacing the let-
ters ‘A’,‘B’,'C’ and ‘D’ with the numbers 18,
3, | and 6 respectively.

If such a program was in a file called
KEYS.COM on the Wordstar master disk,
the second command of the startup pro-
cedure would simply be KEYS.

The third startup task might be to run a
program created in SETUP to initialise the
special function keys and the serial ports
in the correct configuration. This involves
going through the SETUP procedure and
saving the results to a .COM file called, say,
WSSTART.COM. Thus, the third command
of the startup procedure would be
WSSTART.

Run SETUP after you've initialised the
special function keys through the supplied
AUTORUN startup procedure for each ap-
plications package. The keys will then be
defined and can be saved to the WSSTART
file after setting the serial port parameters
(if any).

If you have a printer plugged into one of
the serial ports, you may wish to let the
system know during the startup proce-
dure. The command DEVICE LST:=S100
(or perhaps SIOI) would be the fourth line
of the startup command. If the baud rate
has to be set, an additional option such as

Your BONDWELL

{XON,9600}, which sets it to 9600 baud, is
needed, (Note: the file DEVICE.COM must
be on the disk in order for this command to
work.)

lf your printer is attached to the parallel
port the DEVICE command line isn't re-
quired, since the system assumes
LST:=LPT.

Finally, you'll want to start running the
applications program. If you want to start
Wordstar with drive B as the default drive,
log into drive B and type WS. The search
path defined in the SETDEF command en-
sures that Wordstar will be found on drive
Aand executed with drive B as the default
drive.

Note that WSI.COM is an installed ver-
sion of Wordstar and uses inverse video
display for highlighting. You can see how it
looks by entering WSI instead of WS to
start Wordstar. If you decide you prefer the
display of WSI you can erase WS.COM and
rename WSI.COM WS.COM. Alternatively,
you can just erase WSI.COM.

The complete PROFILES.SUB file is
shown in Listing !. It can be prepared in
Wordstar, but the 'N” (non-document
mode) should be used to eliminate any
possible problems with control characters
making their way into the file. All you need
to make it work is PROFILE.SUB and SUB-
MIT.COM on the disk in drive A when CP/M
is started.

_ Our example listing assigns the printer
to serial port 0 and sets the baud rate of
the port to 9600 with XON-XOFF protocol.
The procedure is essentially the same with
other programs, although Datastar seems
to have different procedures for determin-
ing the drive number for data files. The
command sequence can include any of the
CP/M commands such as SHOW or DIR,
provided there is no pause between com-
mands. lf you want to check out the screen
displays as you go you have to use Control/
S and Control/O to pause and restart the
display. 0

bist ingqu 1?! -eon lee SUB
setdef A:>B

keys
wSstart
device
oe

ws

Ist:=sio00Cxon;,7600)

133

IBM UNDERGROUND

UTIL — The Universal Utility
Program

What’s your pet PC hate? Mine is having to
use DOS to browse through a new disk, or
to selectively copy or delete files from a
disk. Doing a DIR with DOS just gives a list
of files in random order. TYPEing a file
sends it scrolling past. Using a word pro-
cessor is amazingly time-consuming if
each file has to be loaded and quit.
COPYing and ERASEing are tedious if
done file by file and dangerous if wildcard
characters (* or ?) are used.

But i don’t have to suffer any more — |
use a program called UTIL for all my file
management tasks (and other useful ap-
plications as well).

What can UTIL.do? UTIL turns your prin-
ter and PCintoa typewriter so you can type
direct to paper. It can redefine your
keyboard so any key can be a different
character or string of characters, and it has
a crude database. But UTIL’s most useful
feature is the sorted directory, from which
files can be copied, deleted, browsed
through or printed.

i
84 Topward

MODEL 4303 $445.00*

Why so many furictlons? DOS has a
minimum number of spaces to allocate to
files. On a 360 Kbyte floppy, space is allo-
cated in clusters of 512 bytes, and my hard
disk has 4096 byte clusters. If a file is shor-
ter than one cluster the rest of the space in
the cluster is wasted. If a file is longer than
one cluster space in the last cluster will be
wasted. On average each file wastes half a
cluster, so combining functions into one
program (and thus one file) can save heaps
of disk space.

But there's another reason for combin-
ing functions. Compilers take your source
code and turn it into a file the machine can
execute. To do so they have to add other
routines to handle arithmetic, input, out-
put and other functions. This dramatically
increases the size of the final file; IBM's
BASIC compiler adds about 18 Kbytes in
overhead, Turbo Pascal about 10 Kbytes,
and other compilers add more. If each
function is compiled as a separate file each
file incurs the overhead burden; if many
functions are combined into one file the
overhead is only incurred once. Combining
six functions into one program with the

MODEL 4302 $429,00*

MODEL 2303 $255.00*
MODEL 2302 $229.00*

*Plus Sales Tax.

he »

FEATURES:
@ 4303 (4302) Triple Output — + 30 volt/3A (2A)

BASIC compiler saves nearly 100 Kbytes.

The Sorted Directory

As useful as the other routines are, the
strength of UTIL lies in the sorted:direc-
tory. Let's take a tour and see what hap-
pens.

At the DOS prompt, type UTIL. Up comes
the first menu, and by typing the two let-
ters next to the option, followed by
<enter>, the option is chosen. All file
manipulation can be done from within the
sorted directory (including file browsing),
but browsing can also be done from the
first menu.

Selecting SD, for sorted directory, re-
sults in atwo-column directory. if the files
in the chosen directory don't fit on one
screen they can be seen by scrolling the
screen sideways.

All functions. within sorted directory
mode are performed by moving the cursor
over a filename and/or pressing one key.
The sample directory is sorted in
alphabetical order by filename. Pressing
<X> re-sorts the directory into order by
file extension, with subdirectories first.

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Power Supplies

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e Extremely low ripple and internal resistance

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fund a |

Home Directory : C:\september
Viewing Directory +: c.\

{2.BAT [01 /01/B80|00:N4a] |CHKDSK.COM
{3.BAT [06/18/85 |DB:19p|

[4.BAT {01/01/80j,00:04a)

|5.BAT 101/01/8D[0D:.05a} | COMP .COM
{6.BAT (96/18/85(D8:15p{ [CPY.BAT
|7-BAT {06/18/85 [(09:28p] |DF.BAT
|8.BAT [06/18/85)99;30p|

{9.BAT (06/18/85 (09: |6p|

J ADDBOOT.COM [03/10/84[03:18p}

{AL1LEN.MNI (05/13/85|/09:41p| | EDL.IN.COM
[APPOINT. APP [02/12/85] 10;00p| | FDISK.COM
{ASSIGN.COM) |01/30/84|12:00n| | FIND. EXE

| AUTDSTAR . BAT|01/01/80/00:0la| | FONT. COM:
— = = - = — ee + + ap Po -

Pressing <D> re-sorts into creation date
order, and pressing <A> goes back to
alphabetic sorting.

But what if the root directory is of no
interest, but a subdirectory has the files
you want? Use the arrow keys to place the
cursor over the subdirectory name, and
press <enter>. UTIL will now read the
subdirectory, and sort the entries for dis-
play. Other. one-key functions allow the
current drive to be changed while you
move back up to a higher directory.

Browsing, Deleting and Copying
Files can be browsed through and marked
for copying or deletion by placing the cur-
sor over the filename and pressing <B> to
browse, <Alt-D> for deletion, or <Alt-C>
to copy.

Browse is like a read-only word proces-
sor. UTIL can't alter or edit the file — it
reads from the disk, one screen at a time,
under full user control. UTIL presents the
first screen to the operator, who pages
through the file with the <PgUp> and
<PgDn> keys. Pressing <Esc> takes UTIL
back te-sorted directory mode. Some
browsing, programs load the whole file into
RAM dnd can only browse through files
shorter than a preset limit, but UTIL can
browse through files of any length.

Wordstar creates files with some charac-
ters other than the normal alphabet. These
will be hard to read if you try to browse
through them in the manner described be-
fore. UTIL foresaw this — if you want to
browse through a file created by Wordstar,
press <Alt-B> and all odd chatacters will
be translated. While in browse mode, sec-
tions of file can be marked for printing.
Pressing <P> then prints the marked por-
tion of the file.

Deleting and copying files is also done
from the sorted directory. ln each case the
cursor is placed over the filename of in-
terest. To mark it for deletion. press the

poate newer ae eee ee ene -+ hoe 6 ee me ee aoe
| File Name {| Date | Time | {| File Name | Date [ Time |
+ ~ meee oe wether ea} Spee a eee eee | ---eeee- tonne op
\W.BAT ]07 /01/85/09:29p| {BACKUP.COM = |08/02/83[10:05p|
|1.BAT jO1/01/80/00:04a) | BAK. BAT 12/31 /84/02:25p|

[01/30/84412:00n]
JCHKMACH.COM |03/12/84(03;38p|.
|COMMAND.COM [01/30/64(12:00n]
[01 /30/84)/12:00n]
(04/27/85415: tip]
|02/16/85|02; 34af
]OISKCOMP.COM/02/18/84/12:16nt
)DISKCOPY.COM/02/18/84/12:22n|
|DOSEDIT.COM |01/16/85/02: 49p|
[D1 /30/84[12:00n|
[04 /30/84/12:00n|
101 /30/84112:00n{
[11/01 /83]00;:00a]

90112 bytes free

BY JOHN HEPWORTH

A sample sorted
directory from UTIL.

+= +

<Alt> and <D> keys simultaneously. Any
number of files can be marked like this.
Actual erasure only occurs after pressing
<Alt-X>. If you leave the sorted directory
with files still marked for deletion, UTIL
will ask if they are to be deleted.
Copying is done similarly, by placing the
cursor over the filename and pressing
<Alt-C>. On exiting UTIL a batch file is
created on the default drive, and all
marked files are copied onto it. Marking a
file is not final, and any marking for dele-
tion or copying can be removed by.press-
ing <Alt-U> to Undo the marking.

Other Functions

UTIL allows you to run your favourite edi-
tor or word processor from within Sorted
Directory mode by placing the cursor over
the filename and pressing <Alt-E> forthe
editor, or <Alt-W> for the word processor.
<Alt-S> Is a similar, but user-defined,
command which can call other programs
such as assemblers and compilers.

Copyright and User-Supported
Software
UTIL is user-supported software; it’s
copyright, but the author has allowed all
users to copy it and give copies to any
other person. in return, satisfied users are
asked to send a donation of SUSI0 — not
much to pay for such a great program — to
the author. | | |

The Sydney IBM PC user group has a
bulletin board on (02} 238 9034, located in
the computer section of Grace Bros’ Syd-
ney shop, using equipment loaned by
Grace Bros. Registered users of the board
can download UTIL from the copy { have
uploaded. Visitors can log on and get reg-
istration information. Requirements for
use of the system are 300 baud, 8-bit word
length, no parity and one stop bit.

UTIL is so powerful | can’t possibly de-
scribe it fully here, but the notes above
should whet your appetite. O

BACKUP
PROTECTED
SOFTWARE

From the team who first
brought you COPY Il
PLUS in 1981 comes a
completely updated disk
utility for your Apple //
computer.

New features include:

@ Fully automatic bit copy. All
parameters are stored on
disk. Simply type in the name
of the program you wish to
backup, and COPY {1 PLUS
does the rest!

e New utilities including
Alphabetize Catalog, Fast
2-pass Disk Copy on a /ic or
lie, and on all-new Sector
Editor.

e Supplied on a standard DOS
diskette. Runs on the Apple
ll, Apple //+, Apple //e, Apple
lic. Requires 64K and one or
two disk drives.

Increase the power of your
Apple il...

Use COPY I

PLUS™ 5.0

Call M-F 8.30-5.00 (W.
Australian time) with your

welcome ere INN
(09) 481-0074
Or send a cheque (add $5 s/h) to:
ENTRAL POINT
Software,
557 Wellington Street,
Perth, W. Australia. 6000.

_-“T copy il a
ne om S\ mac / reer 4)

co% | nan

This product
is provided for the purpose of enabling you
to make archival copies only.

ae
a a

135

PIII AAA ADA AA A.

4

OOO OY yO Cay

KKK KKIKKKKK

x From the publishers
of ‘ETI’ and ‘Your
Computer’ magazines.

Kx

XK the Microbee Hackers Handbook
will tell you how to:

¢ Get more from the Bee's graphics

capabilities. %
set up for telecommunications on
the Bee.

e Play music on the Bee.

@ Build a joystick and a light pen for
the Bee.

, © Get hardcopy — cheaply.
e Expand your 16K Bee to 32K

@ Make the Bee a better games
machine.

e Turn your Bee into a facsimile
decoder.

@ Solve equations on the Bee...
and much more!

*

$6.50 at your newsagent now.

tok
Om

POI DIA IAA

ORO OOOO.

KKK KK

OOO

Your APPLETOSH

What About The IIs?

With all the current hype about the Macin-
tosh, my faithfull Apple lic has been sitting
in the corner gathering dust, so | decided
to find out what Apple is planning to do
with the Il family. |

Since the ‘Palace Revolution’ in june it
has become increasingly difficult to find
out what Apple is planning; the new reg-
ime has different ideas. The other problem
is working out which rumours started when
— anything prior to Sculley’s coup, for
example, could be invalid now. Anyway, I'l
pass on what | know.

The statement ‘Apple II forever’ may well
be true; it is by no means dead. There is
rumour that we'll soon see an 800 Kbyte
microfloppy drive for the Il. The drive,
made by Sony. is quiet and fast, and Pro-
DOS-based. With an accelerator card and
the | Mbyte RAM card the system should
be extremely powerful and fast.

The enhanced Apple Ile has been
released in the United States and is due to
arrive in Australia very soon (if not by the
time this is published). The Ile is now effec-
tively a IIc; it will run all the same software,
and has mouse characters and the 65C02.

The Appletalk network is still not fully
functional, but does give a link between
the Apple Il and the Macintosh.

Finally, | expect we'll see a range of 128
Kbyte double high-resolution colour prog-
rams coming out in the near future. With
the current Apple Monitor [00s (which
aren't available in this country because of
cost), the quality of the double high-
resolution is exceptionally clear. [n fact,
you can use the monitor as an 80-column
display without loss of resolution. With the
cost of colour monitors coming down we
may well see these quality units within our
reach very soon.

Grabber
Selection box
Paintbrush
Shaperubber

Show full page

Edit patterns

Any pattern box
Pencil

BY ANNETTE
BROWN

Double-clicked Icons

If you click twice on the functions shown in
Figure 1, you'll achieve interesting results,
aS YOU Can see,

While on the pencil icon, if you press
down the option key after selection of the
pencil the pencil turns into the grabber.
When you release the option key it returns
to the pencil.

Changing font sizes requjres similar
commands to those used with Word. The
> key makes the font larger and the < key
makes it smaller. The shift key andthe > or
< cycles through the fonts. (Word uses the
shift and < > keys for font sizes.)

Move ‘Em Out

To lasso or to box? Although these two
selections look similiar, there are some
important differences. The box (on the top
line) actually cuts out a piece of the draw-
ing, while the lasso captures an object
without the white spaces. An interesting
feature of the lasso is you don’t have to
complete it; when you release the mouse
button Macpaint connects the ends with a
straight line.

Perfect Circles
To make a perfect circle, simply hold down
the shift key. The same can be done for
perfect squares, and used with the polygon
shape all angles are at 45 degrees or multi-
ples. |

The final tip is the use of the option key
while drawing one of the shapes. If you use
the thin line and hold down the option key
while drawing a box you get a box with a
dotted line border (no border if using a
pattern). If you select a bigger border you'll
get a border with the selected pattern.

That's all for now. If you have any tips on
Macpaint, Write or other popular Macin-
tosh programs I'd be interested in hearing
from you so | can pass them on. C]

Select all of the window
Edit screen so you can change the brush
Clear the whole window

Same as entering fat bits.(However if you press the command

key — next to the option key- and click you enter fat bits at

that point.)
Figure I.

S
taiv/PO
Micke SUP

\S
ermina
yitiple
Mutations

Terminals

n
DEC compatible

cPr2

colour
printers

Take a look at [DATASCAPE

Freedom for your information

ay Importers & distributors of top quality
peripherals from Anadex (Printrontx), Ampex,
Eaton, JBCC (NDK) and NEC.

a Experienced technical support and
maintenance Australia-wide, plus informed pre-sale
advice.

ea Competitive pricing and fast delivery.
@ Streamlines all of your purchasing decisions.

| r=. =.

Mail Cou
Syd

Pon to: D
Ney Office: 44,
Ourne office: ,

i ! would like to know

To anyone coming from
8-bit machines with a 64
Kbyte limit, 640 Kbytes
sounds enormous, but with
modern software it can
really cramp your style.
Any serious work would
require 512 or preferably
640 Kbytes.

The Aboveboard

The Intel/Lotus solution is the Expanded
Memory Specification, which takes the
memory limit of a PC to 8 MBytes. The first
announced hardware product is Intel's
Aboveboard. Available in versions for the
PC and the AT, each Aboveboard can pack
2 Mbytes of RAM, and two Aboveboards
can be ina PC at the same time. Using the
extended memory requires modified soft-
ware; Lotus has announced new versions
of [-2-3 and Symphony which can use the
extended memory and also incorporate
added features.

While Intel and Lotus have released the
first products under the Expanded Mem-
ory Specification, the specification is
"available to other companies for develop-
ment of other products compatible with
the new memory standard”.

JRAM-2

Tall Tree Systems recently announced the
| JRAM-2 board, again with a limit for each
| board of 2 Mbytes, but a total of eight

BY JOHN HEPWORTH

boards can be installed to give a maximum
of 16 Mbytes. Obviously no PC has that
many expansion slots on the mother-
board, but an expansion chassis can fix
that. JRAM-2 appears to be configured dif-
ferently from the Aboveboard; at present it
can extend the available memory for nor-
mal applications to 704 Kbytes and use the
surplus memory as RAM drives, spoolers
and so on. Transferring program files to a
RAM disk can make some software fly!

Cattledogs, anyone?

The first applications of mainframes were
in the scientific/defence/code-breaking
areas. Later they moved to the commercial
areas, and now very few businesses could
compete without data processing. It's no
surprise that business applications took
precedence in the early days of micros, but
the swing to the scientific/engineering
area has started,

IBM in the United States recognised
this, and prepared a catalogue of engineer-
ing and scientific programs available from
non-IBM sources. Ranging from languages
to architecture, engineering, graphics, pro-
ject management and costing, the paper-
back lists each program, describes its func-
tions, specifies the necessary hardware
configuration, and gives vendor and pric-
ing information. Stock numbers listed on
the rear cover are 6024194 and GC34-0588-
0. It should be available through the library
in the IBM office in your state.

IBM Australia is not about to be up-
staged by its American cousin. Last year a
showcase for engineering and scientific
users of microcomputers was held in Syd-
ney, and a listing of scientific and en-
gineering programs available in Australia
has subsequently been prepared. It should
be released in late 1985; contact the IBM
library for a copy. O

ea: | Va | ‘o% 4
a
dy. Tax) S nn
: 7 jc

‘| Electronics Today is Australia’s dynamic
\ electronics monthly. It has more special
features, new and exciting projects to
build and a wealth of information on
components, equipment and new
technology. Regular features include
Australia’s top hi-fi reviews and news
on communications and computing.

Buy your copy now from your local
newsagent.

| — |
Pe

}
J
7

ti
|

(> hens /4 itl

Introducing Software That
Comes With Its Own Built-In

Wid GRAPHICS FE
PROCESSING

BUILT-IN | G4K RAM BOK USEABLE
a+ BASIC WITH DVER 75

BUILT-IN COMMANDS

INCLUDING ‘HELP’ KEY

SOFTWARE
PACKAGE

Word processing, electronic spreadsheet,
graphic plotting and file management certainly
need no introduction.

But a computer that has them all built-in
certainly does.

You could easily say the built-in software
alone is worth a lot more than the price.

But then again you could easily say the
Commodore PLUS/4 computer alone is worth a
lot more than the price. With 64K of memory,
60K fully usable, full size typewriter keyboard,
four separate cursor keys, high resolution colour
graphics, extended BASIC, split screen and
windowing capabilities.

Turn on the power and judge for yourself.
Write and edit letters, reports, papers and novels
with the built-in wordprocessor. Do the books,
the budgets, the projections, profit/loss

Computer

C= commodore

STD WHF) TV, AND
MONITOR, OUTPUT.
OPERATES WITH ALL
STD COMMDDORE 64
PRINTERS & DISK
DRIVES.

121 COLDURS 40xe5
SCREEN FORMAT
COMMODDRE 16

SOFTWARE
COMPATIBLE

statements with the built-in spreadsheet. Draw
circles, boxes, complex shapes, images and
combine them with text with the graphics
program. Collect, store, organize and retrieve
information such as mailing lists, inventories,
personal files, business files and recipes with the
file management program.

Go from one program to another at the touch
of a key. For not only are they built into the
computer, they're built into each other. So, for
example, in one document, you can go from
words to numbers to graphs to names and
addresses. In just a matter of moments.

The Commodore PLUS/4. The first new
computer that doesn't have one new thing about
it. It has four.

For further information contact your nearest
Commodore Dealer.

COMPUTER

Keeping up with you.

Commodore Business Machines Pty. Ltd. New South Wales: (02) 427 4888

Victoria/Tasmania/ South Australia: (03) 429 9855 Western Australia: (09) 389 1266 Queensland/Northern Territory: (07) 393 0300

BMS/CCI65

139

For Sale

Commodore Bank Street Writerin
original wrapping -$50 fo disks
and manual. Phone (059) 665 270;
Lilydale area.

VIC-20 Program Library
High-quality games, utilities.
educational and miscellaneous
programs available. Send SAE to
Chris Groenhout, 25 Kerferd
Street, Watson 2602, for a list.

ACT VIC-20 Bi-Monthly
Magazine

Contains many interesting arti-
cles and programs — $2 for a
single issue, $12 for a year’s sub-
scription. Write to Chris Groenh-

out, 25 Kerferd Street, Watson
2602.

IBM PC 256 Kbyte Memory
Card

As new. Will sel] for $256. Write to
12 Monkman Street, Chapman
2611; or phone (062) 88 3404 ah.

Swap C64 Programs

C64 owner with 100 programs
wants to swap. Send list and disk
to G. Kleidon, Box 228, Emerald
4720. Ph (079) 823 925.

Wanted

Secondhand Apple or compatible
for under $700. Phone (054) 91
1686 ah; or write to Martin Wicks,
1 Carrie Street, Charton 3525.

CLASSIFIEDS

Oric |

A new 48 Kbyte home computer,
with all manuals, lots of software,
leads and a new tape recorder —
$400. Phone Rod Greenland (067)
46 1430.

Wanted

Fax and RTTY modem and soft-
ware for the Microbee. Assem-
bled and tested for use by DX/
SWL/. Phone Joe on (059) 87 1167;
or write to PO Box 235, Dromana
3936.

Microbee
With 32 Kbyte IC, a joystick, a
Kaga monitor, all manuals, a cas-

sette player, Wordbee, BASIC,
and other software — $650. Con-
tact Julian Bird in Kingsbury on
(03) 470 3010.

Microbee Tape Copier

Backup M/C programs at 300/
1200 baud, change auto-start,
and create copies suitable for
transfer to disk — $9.20. J Arnold,
36 Victoria Street, Rooty Hill
2766.

VZ200/300 Modem

RS232 interface with software in
ROM. Modem supports Bell 103/
CCIT V.21 300 bps with auto-
answer and telephone handset.
Phone (03) 791 5850 ah.

Trans-Net:

incur Ad
I OT

re .

Be aye essary Oe

4 ? . = — ’
ie sss)

ue -
ems (ty

rm Create Fabulous
Networking capabilities
_for your PC _

Li pee

ot HY

Dai ' =
“oll A

a F
oo
pai
| Ses
= ne az

Soaring

haan eR aE SaaS

Trans-Net is the most easy-to-use

and low-cost local area network
available for your IBM PC and
PC-compatible personal
computers. It allows you to
interconnect your stand-alone
PC’s and bring you into a
fabulous networking world.

° Data Sharing: Before Trans-Net, the only way
to share data between PCs was to make copies
of floppy disks and distribute them to the ap-
propriate users. This was not only time consum-
ing, but the copied information quickly became
“‘old’’ as the original data was updated. Now
your users can share up-to-the-minute data files
via Trans-Net.

* Peripheral Sharing: Some high quality add-
on peripherals — such as letter quality printers,
plotters, hard disk systems and communication
devices are too expensive to add to each per-
sonal computer in your company. By installing
Trans-net in your facility, you can save quite a
cost by sharing the expensive peripherals with
all Trans-Net users.

e Inter-Computer Communications: The
needs for your inter-computer communication
within your office will be getting more and more
important in the future. Before Trans-Net, there
is nO Way for your personal computers to com-
municate or talk to teach other.

¢ Networking Transparency: Trans-Net, with
multi-tasking capability, is so advanced, most
users won't even know they are utilizing the
network. Network operation is so simple and so

rapid, users can immediately realise dramatic
increases in productivity.

e State-of-the-Art Simplicity: RPTI not only
created the most advanced PC Local Area Net-
work, but a Local Area Network of elegant sim-
plicity. Installation, for instance, takes only a
few minutes per workstation. Best of all, Trans-
Net networking software, all by menu driven,
is SO easy to use and flexible, that everyone can
operate the Trans-Net local network within a
few minutes.

OSBORNE

3rd Floor, 93 York St., Sydney,

N.S.W. 2000 Ph. 290 1122 TIx. 70510

BY BRUCE MITCHELL

Going Dotty

While most of us struggle with our green-
screen monitors, single disk drives and a
pirated copy of ‘Welcome’, it’s encouraging
to know some BBC owners have moved
beyond a state of penury. Only the other
evening | heard the wailing of one pluto-
crat, complaining he was down to the last
couple of Mbytes on his hard disk.
Although able to ignore this crass be-
haviour, | revolted when, only a few mo-
ments later, he complained it was hardly
worthwhile owning a high-res colour
monitor because there were only eight col-
ours to look at. |

It’s not true! A few moments spent jug-
gling bits in the screen memory can pro-
duce variety resembling a paint manufac-
turer's colour card, and you get to choose
the ridiculous names for the colours.

The technique creates a fifth colour in
mode | by mixing two ‘standard’ colours.
In this mode, each pixel is controlled by
two bytes, enough to define which of four
colours is displayed. By setting up alter-
nate bytes to be one colour, with those in
between another colour, an effect is cre-
ated similar to that used in some types of
colour printing, where the eye merges the
adjoining dots so they appear to be a diffe-
rent colour from that of the individual
dots.

The dot pattern giving this effect is
POKEd into part of the screen memory
(see line 60 in Listing 1). The dots are
drawn in ‘logical’ colours | and 2, and re-
ference squares of é¢ach ‘actual’ colour (0
to 3) are shown across the bottom of the
screen. The numbers of the ‘actual’ colours
in use are shown at the top of the screen,
and by pressing a key you can step through
every combination of the eight ‘actual’ col-
ours available. |

Some of the resulting colours are horri-
ble, others particularly useful. To use them
you'll need to write a utility which allows
you to draw the dot pattern using cursor or
joystick control, or adapt one of the fill
routines which seem to be taking over
some BBC specialist magazines in the Un-
ited Kingdom.

Of course, all this POKEing is likely to
upset second processors, so it's probably
best to turn them off. Those who are rich
enough to afford them will not mind asking
their butler to reach around the back and
throw the appropriate switch.

View Upgrades
Being pretty well fed up to the teeth with
the dozens of bugs In my 1.5 version of

Acornsoft’s ‘View’ word processor, I sent
the ROM and $30 to Barson Computers
and within a few days View 2.1 arrived.

Interestingly, only the ROM was in the
envelope. By reading between the lines
after entering * HELP CMODE, I discovered
| could now print a document without sav-
ing — a facility which is useful as long as
important files aren’t just printed and left
to rot in RAM as the power fades away.
There was also a new command, FOLD,
which | was naive enough toassume would
shdw you where to fold the printed sheets.
(I never manage to get letters into en-
velopes first try, so this would, | thought,
be a definite improvement.) Alas, | was
wrong again ... and where was the docu-
mentation?

Now, I'm not averse to cost-cutting if it
eventually benefits the customer, but to
spend money on ‘upgrading’ software
without providing any explanation of how
it differs from previous versions is, to say
the least, of very doubtful benefit to any-
one except Telecom. Three lengthy phone
calls to Melbourne, each of which entailed
being put onto wrong exténsions, elicited
no information, but | was finally promised
a summary of changes “if there was one
around”.

Seven weeks have passed and no in-
formation has arrived. Should | assume

Your BBC

there aren't any useful changes? I'm
wondering why I parted with $30 — many
of the old, familiar bugs still remain and, as
a bonus, the printer driver now gets lost if
you use the NEW command. It’s probably
too much to .sk fora debugged version of
View within } months of the previous ‘de-
bugged’ version, but is it too much to ask
what FOLD does?

Electron Programs, Anyone?
Late in May the Victorian Education De-
partment joined the rest of the country in
accepting the BBC in itsclassrooms. To the
surprise of many, the newer B+ (64 Kbyte)
model of the Beeb was joined by the Elec-
tron. Fitted with an ADFS chip, this
machine looks remarkably like a Beeb toa
network. The chip, however, prevents the
electron from using any software which
requires PAGE to be set lower than about
&1900, ruling out just about every decent
piece of software yet written for the Beeb.
Please write if you know of any programs
that survive on the Electron — there area
lot of people who would like to use a
machine of the Electron’s price to do
something educationally useful, apart
from teaching programming.

Next month, I'l] look at the ACK BASIC
compiler and why you should think very
carefully before buying one. O

10 REM COLOR MIXING IN MODE 1
20 REM Press ESCAPE to finish.

30 *#TVO It
40 MODE]

SO REM Poke the bit pattern intascreen memory.
60 FORAZ=&3780 TO &7380 STEP4: !AXZ=&AS

SAASSA: NEXT

70 REM Draw reference color patches.

80 FOR AZ=0 TO &
90 GCOLO,A%
100 X%=AL¥ 320
110

160: PLOTSS, X%+520, 140

120 NEXT

MOVEXZ, Os MOVEX%+320, O: PLOTSS, XZ,

130 PRINTTAB(20,1)"Press any key.";
140 REM Step through every cambinatian

150 REPEAT

140 FOR A=0 TO 7
170 VDU19,1,A;03
180
190
200
210
220
230
240

Z=GET

NEXT
NEXT
UNTIL 0

FOR B=A TO 7
VDU19, 2,B; 0;
PRINTTAB(O,1) 343"

= 355

Figure |

141

BY COLIN TRINGHAM

Space Chase

Since starting this column I've received
very little feedback. However, one users’
group member did complain the columns
don't go into enough detail, which is a
valid comment, but within the space
allowed it's difficult to delve very deeply
into any one subject. This is why | refer to
so many articles from other sources — |
can't easily condense six pages of informa-
tion into one!

This month | want to look at the Prag-
rammable Character Generator inside the
Microbee and illustrate some methods of
getting more out of this useful feature.

First try an experiment: write a simple
BASIC program to load just one of the 1 28
PCG characters with your required shape
and print this character to the screen.
Check the amount of memory left before
you start your pragram and after it's
finished.

For my system, PRINT FRE(0) initially
gave a figure of 30206 bytes free. After
typing in asimple PCG shape! was left with
only 30066 bytes free; it took 140 bytes to
specify just one character. The DATA state-
ment for the 16 data values took up 70 of
these bytes because each data value —
such as 255 — is stored as three ASCII
numbers.

Obviously, if we're going to use lots of
PCG characters our DATA statements are
going to be rather long, and, even worse, it
will take a while to load this information

"There must be a better way,” you say,
and you're right. In fact, there are at least
two much better ways to load your PCG
characters into memory, and both of them
rely on the use of one simple machine
code function — the LDIR assembly
method.

LDIR (which stands for Joad, decrement,
increment and repeat) will load a block of
data of almost any length into another
area of memory. You can load all 128 PCG
characters into their RAM from your prog-
ram in less than 1/50th of a second, and
each character takes only 16 bytes of mem-
ory, with an overhead of another [3 bytes
for the machine code. You can even have
several data blocks for different sets of
characters and load different character

142

"There must be a better
way,” you say, and you're
right. In fact, there are at

least two much better
ways to load your PCG
characters into memory,
and both of them rely on
the use of one simple
machine code function —
the LDIR assembly
method.

sets into the PCG as required. This gives
virtually unlimited PCG characters
(although only 128 can be used at one
time), and is the method used in the Au-
steconomy game.

Having decided to use this much better
method, we have to decide where to load
our PCG data. The first method ! used re-
lies on fitting all the data into BASIC prog-
ram lines while ensuring the BASIC prog-
ram itself never sees the data during the
running of the program (to do so would
cause more etror messages than | could
count). Hiding your machine code behind
a REM statement does work, but can cause
problems since BASIC apparently still
reads the line and gets very confused if it
reads a control code. (a data value less than
31) within the line.

A Better Method

A better method is to start your program
with line I and make the first instruction in
that line a GOTO 100. After your colon
following the first command you can put
any code you like, because BASIC will nev-
er execute it. In addition, you have another
98 lines in which to put any code you re-
quire. You must be careful not to LIST
these lines as they are expanded into non-

Your BEE

tokenised form when they are printed, and
lines longer than !84 characters (the limit
of the line buffer) cause problems by run-
ning over the end-of-line markers when
they are restored to memory.

However, for programs requiring around
eight to 28 PCG characters, | find this
method the easiest to use.

A third method is to collect all the
data bytes for your PCG characters, and put
them together at the end of your BASIC
program with your machine code loader at
the start of the code sequence. This works
very well, but you must alter your end-of-
file pointer to accommodate the new sec-
tion of code the first time you save the
entire program.

The LDIR command is well documented
in any books on Assembler, and since the
values for the start of the block and the
position it is moved to in the PCG will vary
according to your program, you will have to
work out your own Code.

Designing PCG Characters

So far so good, but we still have to design
your PCG characters. Here you will need
some artistic skill and/or lots of patience.
I've tried most of the graphic designer
packages | can find, and the best seem to
be modified versions (three characters
wide) of Harry Purvis's original PCG prog-
ram, PCG with Character, which appeared
in Your Computer two years ago; and poss-
ibly Sketch Pad (from AT), mainly for
geometric shapes. Actually, this latter
program is probably much better than
most, but the manual lets it down badly

The Swedish Microbee agents have
come up with two excellent PCG programs
which will hopefully be on sale by the time
you read this.

These programs seem to have every-
thing you need in a graphics designer, and
are accompanied by good documentation.
One program is for BASIC users, while the
other allows easy design of characters in
the 80 by 24 screen format, which uses a
character only 11 bytes high.

I've seen an advertisement for another
PCG program in the pages of this maga-
zine, but at this stage I have no feedback as
to how good it is. O

Bateman coe
dare Maree ely
letters almost
look engraved.

ee.
hl eo
od Pee ee i, tt es :
Hoe atee reo ee ‘i ae r . ha hi,
AT ep plot tee tp ee eh
Cotes = foot Sets AY Pa
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Sg a SeralcLerey 4
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Your C64

Programming the Function Keys
Both the 64 Users’ Manual and the Prog-
rammers’ Reference Guide lack any mem
tion of how to use the function keys.
Perhaps the authors thought it too ob-
vious to mention, but since it’s quite a
common enquiry from new users, a bfief
explanation is in order.

The 64 has a 10-character keyboard buf-
fer which is automatically updated 60
times a second. When any key is pressed
its CBM-ASCII code is placed in the buffer.
The ASCII codes for the function keys are
from 133 to 140. Both the Users’ Manual
and the Reference Guide have ASCII and
CHRS tables at the back which detail the
codes for all keys, including the function
keys. |

You can use the BASIC GET statement to
read the first character In the queue ina
way a program can handle it — GET AS will
read the character and call It AS. AS is a
string variable and can be easily tested to
see if it's oné of the characters you're look-
ing for. For example:

10 GET AS:IF AS=" THEN 10

20 IF AS=CHRS( 133) THEN 40

30 GOTOI10

40 PRINT “ Fl WAS PRESSED. ”:STOP

Line 10 gets a character from the buffer;
if no key is pressed It will loop back and
wait for another one to be pressed.

Line 20 tests for the Fl character and
branches if successful.

Line 30 is reached only if the key pressed
was not FI. it loops back to wait for another
selection. This program will loop inde-
finitely until Fl is pressed.

If you wanted to test for more than one
function key you could insert mofe lines
between 20 and 30. You could also use one
or more ON ... GOTO statements; for ex-
ample:

20 ON- (AS="<F 1 >") -2* (AS="<F3>")
-3* (AS="<F4>") GOTO 40,50,60

When typing this, note that <FI>
means press FI, not ’<’ ‘FI’ ’>’. When
you press a function key while in quote
mode you see a reversed graphic symbol
appear. This has the same effect as testing
for the CHRS() values, but makes a more
compact code,

After determining which F key was press-
ed it's simply a matter of branching to your
appropriate routine. It's up to you to work
out what you want it to do.

The function keys can also be program-
med under machine code; this is the only
way to make them work in direct mode. The
DOS 5.1 wedge uses this technique, as do
the Plus-4 and C+!I6. By intercepting the
keyboard deciphering routine (CHRGET at

144

115-138 on the 64), ML prograrnmers can
catch the F keys before the regular BASIC
has a chance to register them. It's a neat
trick, but one which requires a good deal of
ML experience to pull off. Machine lan-
guage enthusiasts will find the DOS 5.1
wedge techniques worthy of examination.

Unclosed Disk Files

After mentioning the 1541's reliability last
month, several irate readers rang me to
relate horror stories about how other files
on their disk had been corrupted when
using the ‘@SAVE’ (save and replace)
command.

The problems weren't caused by the
‘@SAVE’ command, nor was there any bug
in the 1541. The trouble was caused by the
presence of unclosed files on the disk —
something we should all avoid. The 154!
manual warns of the dangers of not prop-
erly closing files, but doesn’t hint at the
scale of potential disaster.

Unclosed files are usually caused by
faults in your programming. You may have
forgotten to use the CLOSE command af-
ter writing to a file, or perhaps a bugin the
code meant the CLOSE command was
never executed. Other causes can be power
failures while writing to disk, or pressing
the STOP key or removing a disk while the
drive is still writing.

You can detect unclosed files on your
disk by LiSTing the directory. These bad
files are marked by an asterisk after their
filename. Do not attempt to scratch them
or write or save to disk while they are pre-
sent.

Unciosed files confuse the disk’s BAM
(block availability map). The BAM is the
key used by the DOS to determine which
blocks are free and which are not, and
scratching or writing files while the BAM is
confused can Jead to unpredictable re-
sults, including corruption of data or prog-
rams.

There's a simple fix — the Validate com-
manid.

OPEN 15,8,15:PRINT#15, “V": CLOSEI5
(or >V using the wedge). After performing
a Validate check the directory again; there
shouldn't be an asterisk in sight and your
disk will be safe once again. Unfortunately
Validate won't repair any damage that may
have already been done to your other files,
so you should make it a practice to regular-
ly check your disks for unclosed files.

I Mbyte Drives

Commodore is currently selling its 1001 |
Mbyte drive for an incredible $299. On a
bytes per buck basis this represents asto-

BY IAN ALLEN

nishing value, especially compared with
what non-Commodore users have to pay
for similar storage capacity. Both the 1001
and its dual-drive equivalent (the 2 Mbyte
8250 at $1350) use the parallel IEEE stan-
dard for data transfer. This requires a spe-
cial interface but is at least 10 times quick-
er than the system used on the 1541.
Although the 1001! can’t read or write to
1541 disks, its combination of fast access
and storage capacity makes it ideal for
database applications. Database prog-
rams which support IEEE really sing (if
you don’t believe me, check out Pittwater
Distributors’ Electronic Card File on a
1001). One national video chain is using a
64 coupled to a 100! in each of its outlets
to maintain cassette rental records — at
less than one third of the cost of so-called
‘business computer’ alternatives.

Leading Edge IEEE Interface

There are many IEEE interfaces on the
market, ranging from $75 to $250. Some
are suspect, causing inexplicable prob-
lems when you Jeast expect them. Others
use switching techniques to cheat, provid-
ing a pseudo IEEE without the full speed
benefits. The best {Interface i've come
across is the Leading Edge, and it’s made
right here in Australia.

Leading Edge. comes in the form of a
cartridge plus a dual ROM board. Having a
dual ROM makes it very easy to convert
your computer back into a standard 64;
you simply flick a switch. The Edge can be
ordered in various forms, supporting just
about every combination of output devices
you can imagine. There’s even a version
which supports both IEEE and the Com-
modore serial bus at the same time; using
it you could simultaneously run a 154], a
1001 (and/or 8250) and a Commodore
printer. Other options allow you to use a
Centronics printer or the RS232 port.

The Edge was chosen by the video chain
I mentioned earlier and is also in use on
the RCOM BBS. Sysop Simon Finch waxes
lyrical about it, and says his main joy has
been from a programmer's point of view
(he writes his own BBS software); because
the Leading Edge is fully transparent,
programmers aren't required to use any
special POKEs or SYS commands when
switching from an IEEE to a serial one
drive.

For further information contact Leading
Edge, PO Box 182, Tuart Hill 6060; (09) 445
2152.

Leading Edge can also supply a 100!
single-drive backup program— something
most 100i users will find very useful. O

BOOKS IN BRIEF

Macintosh Notebook:
Macpaint

John Heilborn

Prentice-Hall, $33.95

A hands-on guide to both the new
and old versions of Macpaint,
written in very simple language.
Each step is explained in detail,
with accompanying sketches and
bold crossheads to assist the
novice. Every chapter has an ex-
planatory heading. a list of con-
tents and a brief synopsis. The
book is written and typeset on the
Macintosh and Imagewriter, so
text and illustrations look just
like those you can create on the
computer screen.

The Word Processing
Handbook

Katherine Aschuer

Pan, $8.95

An American step-by-step ‘how
to’, which has been revised for the
UK and Australian markets, The
Word Processing Handbook advises
what machines are available,
their functions, how to choose
the right system, the pitfalls to
watch for and what kind of staff
training is needed — and it’s all
presented in a straightforward
style with easy-to-read print.

Electron Assembly Language
Bruce Smuth

Shiva (ANZ), $7.95

A guide to machine code prog-
ramming, this book discusses
binary to decimal to hexadecimal!
conversion, mnemonics, the
accumulator, index registers,
assembly delimiters, the status
register and carry flag, addressing
modes, addressing, subtraction,
multiplication and division in
machine code, the stack and how
to use It, subroutines — assemb-
ler equivalents of BASIC, GOSUB
and RETURN and machine
operating system routines and
their uses.

Appendices giving ASCII codes,
assembly language equivalents
of BASIC statements. and the in-
struction set and opcodes for the
6502 are included. An Electron
utilities tape is also available.

Software For Microcomputers
— A Businessman’'s Guide
Deloitte Haskins & Sells, $12.95
The third in a series of books on
microcomputers written specially
for the Australian market, the
guide emphasises two golden
rules: select your software before

choosing your hardware, and buy
the best-quality software in pre-
ference to poorer quality, even if
it's cheaper.

Assembly Language
Programming for the Acorn
Electron

lan Birnbaum

Macmillan, $21.95

A book with exercises and full
solutions. backed up by an
accompanying cassette which
contains all relevant listings and
two additional utility programs.

The Complete VIC ROM
Disassembly

Peter Gerrard, Kevin Bergin
Duckworth (ANZ), $19.50
Intended for the serious program-
mer, this book includes fun-
damental memory maps, memory
architecture maps, the disassem-
bly itself anid the complete 6510
machine code instruction set.

The Penguin Book of
Commodore 64 Sprite
Graphics

Tony Atkinson

Penguin, $14.95

A book for beginners who want to
create their own animated
graphics quickly and easily on the
Commodore 64, The explanations
in each of the six chapters are
brief, designed for immediate
‘doing’. Five appendices provide
further detail for those who want
to understand the theory behind
sprite graphics. We're sorry to say
we thought the full impact of ‘the
magic of sprites’ was lost in the
black-and-white presentation of
this book.

Step By Step Programming
the Sega SC3000 — A Friendly
introduction for Beginners
Philip O'Carroll

Penguin, $14.95

A‘jump in boots and all’ guide to
46 ready-to-use programs, this
book enables beginners to get
started quickly. Create your own
games. with sound, colour and
animated graphics.

Sixty Programs for the
Dragon 32

Sixty Programs for the Atari
400/600XL/800XL

Sixty Programs for the VIC-20
Robert Erskine and Humphrey
Walwyn. Paul Stanley and Michael
Bews

Pan, $14.95 each

Toolkits for constructing efficient
programs, and the weapons re-
quired to disassemble them and
annihilate the bugs. Accompany-
ing texts explain the use and
mechanics of each utility.

The Power of Financial
Calculations for I-2-3

Robert Williams

Prentice-Hall, $23.95

Presents practical solutions to
everyday problems facing busi-
ness people. The procedures
necessary to perform each exer-
cise are given to the reader step
by step.

The Australian Guide to
Lotus [-2-3

Bob Thompson

Computer Tutor, $14.95
This ring-bound guide is de-
signed to give the novice micro-
computer user an introduction to
Lotus |-2-3, with integrated prac-
tical exercises to be performed on
the IBM PC.

The Bewildered Parents’
Guide To Computer
Programming

Shayne Micchia

Pitman, $12.95

Among the many positive aspects
of this book are its cover, Lyn
Stocks’ cute illustrations, the
easy-to-read type and Ms Mic-
chia’s simple and direct style. The
latter is evident from the first
chapter: “ ... computers are not
intelligent creatures. In fact they
are quite dumb.” Computer jar-
gon is avoided and each of the 17
chapters is followed by a sum-

mary, as well as quizzes and

assignments designed to prove to
parents that, “You cannot dam-
age your computer in any way by
pressing a key or giving a wrong
instruction.”

The Regis Touch

Regis McKenna

Addison-Wesley Publishing
Company, $22.95

Hailed as “million dollar advice
from America’s top marketing
consultant”, the contents of this
hardback are designed to teach
us how to make money out of the
‘computer age’.

The IBM Personal Computer
for Beginners

Seamus Dunn, Valerie Morgan
Prentice-Hall, $24.50

BY KATE STOREY

Eleven chapters, a set of appen-
dices and reference tables pro-
vide a comprehensive introduc-
tion to the IBM PC for beginners
with neither computing experi-
ence nor outstanding mathema-
tical skill.

A Glossary of Computer Terms
Edited by The British Computer
Society Schools Committee Glossary
Working Party

Cambridge University Press,
$4.75

As the title suggests, this is a
glossary of common computing
terms explained in simple lan-
guage. Fifteen sections cover a
wide variety of topics, such as
programming languages, person-
nel, architecture, applications,
storage systems and software.
The reader is guided to other re-
lated terms where applicable, and
a complete index is provided.

Microcomputer Art

Ross Edwards

Prentice-Hall, $19.95

A book for general application
with any small personal compu-
ter, Microcomputer Art shows how
to simulate the motion of a
‘geometric pen’ or ‘geometric
lathe’ on the computer screen.

Pitman’'s First Book Of
Amstrad Games

Hugh Cameron, Danny Olesh
Pitman, $12.95

An introduction to writing prog-
rams for the Amstrad series of
micros, this book incorporates a
number of program listings rang-
ing from games to a database
program. Each listing introduces
a new basic programming techni-
que, which is explained in detail
in the accompanying notes.

Tandy Educational Software
Sourcebook

Compiled by Karel Davey

Tandy, $14.95

A collection of more than 600
software products for Tandy’s
Color Viil/4 and Model 100 clas-
sroom computers. Programs are
indexed according to which sub-
ject they could be used in. Their
descriptions include: the
medium on which they are re-
corded, what instructional tech-
niques they employ, what system
configuration they require, the in-
tended user level, price and dis-
tributor.

145

BOOK REVIEW

Bit By Bit — An Illustrated History
Of Computers

UNTIL RECENTLY, hardware left me cold,
but after reading Bit By Bil, | regard compu-
ters in an entirely new light.

Stan Augarten’s approach to his subject
is summed up in the preface: “No machine,
no matter how extraordinary, is as interest-
ing as its maker.” True to this stated belief,
the author enlivens his discussion of his-
torically significant machines with snip-
pets of gossip and interesting anecdotes
about the people involved in their de-
velopment; for example, he writes, “Flint
was a colourful figure, an international
wheeler-dealer who earned his first million
selling munitions in Latin America and
who was popularly known, in the catchy if
exaggerated phrase of a Chicago reporter,
as ‘the father of all trusts’.”

Divided into nine chapters, each intro-
duced by a relevant quote from someone
of note in the industry, the book charts the

history of the computer in a straightfor-
ward, colloquial style, which even the most
unscientific dummy can understand. Au-
garten’s tongue-in-cheek tone renders Bil
By Bit quite digestible; | could identify with
a quote from CBS commentator, Edward R.
Murrow, “The trouble with machines is
people.”

Text in Bit By Bilis printed in bold, easy-
to-read type, and this paperback is just the
right size for bedtime reading (although it
won't cure insomnia}.

As the title suggests, illustrations are
abundant and the old family photos and
advertising copy would hold particular in-
terest for historians. | would have liked to
see more colour in a general-interest book
such as this, but

Chapter 6, which describes the rise of
the IBM empire, is perhaps the most grip-
ping. Augarten’'s assertion that, “To a large

HERE TODAY

BY KATE STOREY |

IBM is the computer industry,

degree
and almost every other computer company

in the world swims in its ocean” is sup-
ported visually by a table of the company's
phenomenal growth since World War UI.

Bit By Bit ts well organised; its 324 pages
includean index, a bibliography and notes,
a chronology, an epilogue and an
appendix.

Always down-to-earth, Bit By Bit fittingly
concludes: “Yet, no matter how smart we
manage to make it, the computer will never
be a panacea. It is a tool, a fabulous tool,
but nothing more, and we shouldn't invest
it with all our hopes and dreams for the
future.” | like that. O

Author: Stan Augarten

Publisher: Unwin Paperbacks
Distributor: George Allen & Unwin
Price: $19.95 rrp

HERE TOMORROW ___

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B027

cENGLISH.
The C Generation Language.

fourth generation procedural language based on
dBASE li syntax. It is portable to a wide range of

SAMPLE cENGLISH PROGRAM

IDENTIFICATIONS

micros and minis. The language features user- MODULE. Mininame
transparent interfaces to a wide range of popular C AUTHOR: bes
C iler erati systems, and data base Deere co
ompliers, operating yi ’ REMARKS: Sample CENGLISH program that adds first
managers. names to a file

How is portabillty achieved? CENGLISH throughit’s | END IDENTIFICATIONS
compiler interface translates cENGLISH into
documented C source and uses a host C compiler to | GLOBALS

FIXED
produce native machine code. SB ReOMENE ee ee
MAIN PROGRAM

END GLOBALS
cENGLISH |
SOURCE
BEGIN

CLEAR SCREEN

a SET ECHO OFF

2 SOURCE USE “NAMES”

VIEW BY “ID_.FNAME” ASCENDING

AT 23, 1 SAY ‘‘Add a record? Y or N"”
C source can be embedded in cENGLISH source. AT 23, 25 ENTER ans USING “!""

Differences in the operating system and data base

EXECUTABLE
NATIVE
MACHINE CODE

WHILE ans EQ "'Y”’

manager are handled by the runtime libraries. CLEAR GETS

The result is that CENGLISH source can be compiled AT 6, 1 SAY “Enter first name”

without modification on any micro or mini configura- Aon cen

tion supporting CENGLISH.

What about performance? cCENGLISH executes FAST, Noo coe

just like any compiled C program. END INSERT

How easy is CENGLISH to use? While cENGLISH Is a

powerful high level language that can accommodate AT 12, 10 SAY “Welcome to cENGLISH”, & Ename
complex software development, it remains simple and WAIT 7 :
straightforward to use. Sc aie ant ee a
Call or write for availability of cENGLISH for the STORE" "TO ans

following configurations — pu 53) 30 ENTER. ang USING i , a
Compilers: CLEAR ROW 1 THRU 23

Standard O/S compilers: Lattice C™ for

MS/DOS™ Operating systems: END WHILE
UNIX, “UNIX-like, MS/DOS,™ Coherent,“VMS™ AT 12, 10 SAY "That's all for now!"
Data Base Managers: SET ECHO ON

C-ISAM™ and INFORMIX,” UNIFY,” ORACLE,™

PHACT,” Logix™

Attention MS/DOS users. Demo version and special
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Requirements: 256K, hard disk or two floppy disk
drives, and MS/DOS 2.1 or higher.

Also available: the dBASE II to cLINE/cENGLISH Con-
verter to ease the conversion task. Up to 95% of
dBASE Il code is automatically converted to
cLINE/cCENGLISH. It requires about the same effort as
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END PROGRAM

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CLUB FILE

One of the best places to get information and help with
a particular machine is through a computer user group
or club. Such little pockets of wisdom are scattered
throughout Australia, as you can see from this listing
which we'll be publishing every couple of months.

Australian Capital Territory

ACT Apple Users’ Group, Ernie Kruck, GPO
Box 1231, Canberra City 2601, (062) 86
1208.

ACT Micro 80 Users’ Group, Bill Cushing,
}0 Urambi Village. Kambah 2902, (062) 31
3630.

ACT PC Users’ Group, Nick Hammond, PO
Box 188, Parkes 2600. Meetings last
Monday each month at Reid Tafe, 8.00
onwards. (062) 86 1102.

ACT VIC-20 Users’ Association, Chris
Groenhout, 25 Kerferd St, Watson 2602.
Meetings first Monday each month at
Boys’ Grammar Scout Hall, Red Hill, 7.30
onwards. (062) 41 2316.

ATARI, Chris McEwan, co-ordinator,
ACTARI, PO Box EI[12, Canberra 2600, (062)
88 7861.

Apple User Group (ACT), Jeff Brock, |
Buckley Circuit, Kambah 2902, (062) 31
3630.

Australian ZX80 Users’ Association (AZUA),
David Vernon, 50 Waller Crescent,
Campbell 2601; for ZX81, ZX Spectrumand
Sinclair QL owners. Meets on the last
Wednesday of every month at the Woden
Valley High School library at 7.30 pm.
Canberra ACT Sirius User Group, lim
Bland, (062) 81 2824, (062) 81 2832.
Canberra Compucolor Club (CCC), Meets
7.30 on first Sunday of every month at the
offices of Digital Equipment, 28 Lonsdale
Street, Braddon ACT.

Canberra Microbee Users’ Group, Meets
7.30 pm on first Tues of every month at
Woden Valley High Schoo! Library, Bill
Horsfall (062) 58 3193. PO Box 227, Weston
Creek, ACT 2611.

Canberra Micro-80 User Group, Milt
Cottee, 33 Crawford Cres, Flynn 2615;
meetings third Monday each month, 7.30
pm, in the small theatrette, Reid TAFE, for
System 80, TRS80 and-so on. (062) 58
8822.

Canberra NEC Users’ Group, Mal Smith,
PO Box 173, Belconnen 2616; meets first
Tuesday each month at Main Confererice
Room, CSIRO Headquarters, Limestone
Avenue, at 7.30. (062) 54 1614.

Canberra Osborne Group, c/o Geoff
Cohen, PO Box 136, Kippax 2615, (062) 54
7608.

Kaypro User's Group (ACTKUG), meets on
the third Thursday of each month from
6.30 pm in the | Block theatre, Canberra
TAFE, Constitution Avenue, Reid. Contact
Des Ireland, on (062) 47 5330.

Micsig, Registrar, PO Box 446, Canberra
2601.

PC Users’ Group (for users of IBM PC and
similar machines); meets on the last
Monday of each month at 8 pm in the
main theatre, Building |, Canberra TAFE.
Contact address: PO Box EI88, Parkes, ACT
2600.

Sirius/Apricot User Group, M | Sim, 253
Hindmarsh Drive, Rivett 2611; meetings
7.30 pm third Tuesday each month, 88
Wollongong Street, Fyshwick 2609.

New South Wales

Albury Wodonga Apple User's Group,
jenny Scott (secretary), (060) 24 3225 or
Don McLennan (president), (060) 46 028;
meets second Wednesday every month at
Wodonga High School at 7.30 pm.
Albury-Wodonga District Microbee User
Group, Eric Eulenstein, 202 Kooba St,
Albury 2640, (060) 25 1601.

APF Users’ Group, Norm McMahon, 288
Kissing Point Road, Turramurra 2074, (02)
44 2645.

Apple Team Australia, 5 Walpole Place,
Wahroonga 2076; (02) 48 1018.

Apple Users’ Disk Exchange Club, Phillip
Donnadieu, Flat | 8-10 Lancelot Street,
Allawah 2218: (02) 579 4547.

Apple Users’ Group, Colin Rutherford, PO
Box 505, Bankstown 2200: meets 6.30 pm
second Monday of each month (Tuesday
after public holidays) at Sydney Grammar
School, Stanley Street, Sydney. (02) 520
0926.

Atari Computer Enthusiasts, Tony Reeve,
PO Box 4514, Sydney 2001.

Ausborne, The Secretary, PO Box C530
Clarence Street, Sydney 200I; meetings
third Wednesday each month at 6.30 pm in
the North Shore Council Chambers, Cnr
Miller and McLaren Streets, North Sydney
2060, (02) 95 5378.

Ausbug, Stephen Ford, PO Box 62.
Londonderry 2753.

BBC Educational Users’ Group of NSW,
Dick Cleary, PO Box 939, Darlinghurst 2010;

meets 7.30 pm third Wednesday of each
month at various locations.

Blue Mountains Microbee User Group,
Roger Cooper (president), (047) 58 7238.
Blue Mountains Computer User's Group,
Eric Lindsay (secretary), 25 Reserve
Avenue, Blaxland 2774, (047) 51 2632.
Bondwell User's Group, Ray Richards, 7/39
Ross Street, North Parramatta 2151, (02)
683 3940.

Broken Hill Microbee Users’ Group, Peter
Cotter, 533 Radium Street, Broken Hill
2880, (080) 88 1621.

Casio PB 700 User Group, Terry Gill, 35A
Kent Street, Regent Park 2143, (02) 644
4115.

Central Coast Apple Users’ Group, C W
Lee, 662 The Entrance Road, Wamberal
2260; meetings first Tuesday each month
at the Niagara Park Public School from
7.30 pm. (043) 84 3419.

Central Coast Microbee Club, Max
Maughen, PO Box 36, Ettalong Beach 2257,
first Tuesday every month at Applied
Technology, West Gosford. (043) 24 2711.
Compucolor Users’ Group, Tony Lee, 52
Cowan Road, St. lves 2075, phone (02) 449
8824.

Cooma Microbee User Group, Phil Zikan,
PO Box 92 Cooma 2630, (064) 82 3315;
meets on the second Friday of the month.
Cumberland Computer User Group, $
O'Neil, (02) 682 3851.

Dataflex User Group, Roger Walker, (02)
699 3877.

dBase Users’ Group, PO Box 297, Neutral
Bay Junction 2089; meets every second
Tuesday each month at the Cowper Room,
St. Andrew's House, corner Bathurst and
Kent Sts, Sydney.

DEC Personal Computer Special Interest
Group, Marion Rhydderch, DEC Australia,
Northern Tower, Chatswood Plaza, Railway
Street, Chatswood 2067, (02) 412 5252.
Dubbo and District Microbee Users’
Group, Coralie Taylor, 18 Cunningham
Street, Dubbo 2830; meets fourth
Wednesday each month at 7.30 pm in the
Dubbo High School Computer Room.
Griffith Computer Association, Ron Gauci,
PO Box 425, Griffith 2680, (069) 62 5877.
Griffith Microbee User's Group, Ingmar
Meins, (069) 62 3074; meets the fourth
Monday of each month at Neighbourhood
House at 7.30 pm.

Hawkesbury Apple User Group,Secretary
Steve Bennett; meets fourth Monday. each
month at 7.30 pm, Richmond Primary
School, (045) 78 2195.

Hawkesbury Commodore Computer Club,
Richard Farrell, 12 Inverary Drive, Kurmond
2757; meets fourth Tuesday of each month
at 7.30 pm at Neighbourhood Centre, West
Market Street, Richmond 2753.
Hawkesbury Microbee Computer Club,
Bruce Rennie, 6 Warks Road, Kurrajong
Heights 2758; workshops 7.00 pm third

149

Friday, and general meetings 7.30 pm first
Friday of each month in the Microbee
Network Room, Library Building, Richmond
High School, Cnr Penrith and Lennox
Streets, Richmond 2753. (045) 67 7329.
Hitachi/6809 User Group, meets on the
first Saturday of each month, at 2 pm;
contact Robert Lohr on (02) 662 4150, after
6 pm for locations.

HP Desktop Computer Users’ Group, Dr R
W Harris, CSIRO Division of Mineral
Physics, PMB 7, Sutherland 2232, (02) 543
3460,

Hunter Users’ Group — All
Microcomputers, Secretary, PO Box 39,
Broadmeadow 2298; meets on the second
Wednesday of each month in Room 308,
Building W. University of Newcastle, at 7.45
pm. Membership is primarily Apple II
oriented, but anyone with interest in
micros welcome.

IBM User Group, Ron Pollack

(president), PO Box 501, Sydney 2001;
meets third Monday of every month on the
1 Ith floor, 50 Bridge Street, Sydney in the
Price-Waterhouse seminar rooms at 5.30
pm. (02) 290 3655.

llawarra IBM PC Club — All IBM
compatibles, Dick Adams (secretary), C/o
john Lysaght Ltd, Delivery Code 29, PO
Box 77, Port Kembla 2505; (042) 75 6721.
Illawarra Microbee Computer Club, Ronald
Read, PO Box 271, Warrawond 2502; meets
every 4th Monday at 7.30 pm, Wollongong
Institute of Education, Northfield Ave,
Gwynneville; (042) 71 2384.

Illawarra Super 80 Users’ Group, Jim
O'Grady, Chairman, PO Box 1775,
Wollongong 2500.

Macarthur Computer Association, | Napier,
23 Athel Tree Crescent, Bradbury 2560;
meets first Monday each month at Airds
High School, Briar Road, Campbelltown
2560, at 7.30 pm each month; al! machines
are catered for, (046) 25 2055.

Macquarie Microbee Users’ Group, Brian
Thompson; meetings first Monday each
month at Denistone East Primary Schoo!
at 7.30 pm. (02) 85 1659 after hours.
MEGS (Microcomputer Enthusisasts’
Group), John Whitlock, PO Box 1309,
Chatswood 2067; meetings third Monday
each month at rear of St Andrew's
Presbyterian Church, 37 Anderson Street,
Chatswood 2067, (02} 638 1142.

Microbee Users’ Club (Broken Hill), Peter
Cotter, 533 Radium Street, Broken Hill
2880, (080) 88 1621.

Newcastle Microbee Users’ Group, Lee
Osman, |2 Cleverton Close, Warners Bay
2282, (049) 48 8813.

Newcastle Microcomputer Club, Angus
Bliss, PO Box 293, Hamilton 2303;
meetings 7.30 pm second and fourth
Monday each month at Room G12, Physics
Building, Newcastle Uni. (049) 67 2433.
NSW Primary School Microbee Users’

150

CLUB FILE

Group, Mr Peter Stretton, c/- Hunters Hill
Primary School, Alexandra Street, Hunters
Hill 2110.

NSW 6800 Users’ Group, 27 Georgina
Avenue, Keiraville 2500.

Northern Beaches VIC User Group, E.
Tuxford, 161 Barrenjoey Road, Newport
2106, (02) 997 2467.

Northern NSW MICC Chapter, Alen
Hartley, Dundurrabin via Dorrigo 2433,
(066) 57 8160.

Open Access User Group, Steve Cook,
Advanced Data Technology Pty Ltd, |
Terrell Avenue, Wahroonga 2076; (02) 48
O51 1.

OSI Users’ Group, Nigel Bisset, (02) 41!
7142.

Pocket Computer Users’ Club, George
Antonijevic; for those interested in pocket
computers, whatever the brand. Meetings
held on the first Wednesday of each month
at 7.30 pm at the Woodstock Community
Centre, Church St, Burwood 2134, (02) 683
4296.

Sega Users’ Club, Jim Robinson — Penrith
branch, (047) 30 1834: jeff Wilson —
Parramatta branch, (02) 684 4128.
Sirius/Apricot User Group, Wayne Collom,
Barson Computers; meets first Tuesday
each month at 6.30 pm, Unit D, 55 Talavera
Road, North Ryde 2113, (02) 888 9444.
Sorcerer Users’ Group, PO Box E162, St
James 2000; meetings third Friday each
month at 8.00 pm in Greenwich
Community Hall, Greenwich Road,
Greenwich 2065.

Southern Districts Commodore Users’
Group, Lex Toms, 3 Lucille Crescent,
Casula 2170; meetings first and third
Wednesdays each month, API Hall,
Currajong Road, Prestons 2170. (02) 602
8691.

Sutherland Super 80 Group, Jim Traeger,
(02) 525 2018. |

Sydcom 64 (C64 User Group), Philip Dean,
GPO Box 1542, Sydney 2001; meets on the
second Wednesday of each month at the
Abraham Mott Hall, Argyle Place, Miller's
Point.

Sydney Forth Group, Peter Tregeagle, 10
Binda Road, Yowie Bay 2228: meets
second Friday of each month at 7.00 pm in
the John Goodsell! Building, UNSW room
LGI9. (02) 524 7490.

Sydney Kaypro Users’ Group, Hans
Schneider, C/O Dr H. Schneider, Geography
Department, UNSW, PO Box I, Kensington
2003; meetings second Tuesday of each
month, 8.00 pm, Burwood RSL Club. (02)
697 4400 (w) or (02) 309 2961 (h).

Sydney Lotus I[-2-3 User Group, Ron
Pollak, (02) 29 5316.

Sydney Microbee Users’ Club, Colin
Tringham, PO Box C233, Clarence St,
Sydney 2000; meetings third Saturday each
month 1-5 pm, Strathfield Girls’ High
School, (02) 92 6408.

Sydney Northside Apple Users’ Group,
Philip Webb, meets first Tuesday each
month 6.30 to 8.30 pm, Willoughby Council
Library, 411 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood
2067. (02) 419 3294.

Sydney TRS80 Users’ Group, meetings
second, third and fourth Saturday of each
month at Botany. (02) 666 4716 bh.

TAG — The Access Group, Bob Dolton,
PO Box 943, Orange 2800; for Access and
Actrix users.

The Great Western Computer Users’
Group Jim Graham, PO Box 210,
Wentworthville 2145; (02) 636 9219. All
micro users are welcome. A 40-minute
beginner's session is held at the beginning
of each meeting. The club meets on the
first Tuesday of each month, at 8 pm.

The Morrow User Group Alan Stern, (02)
750 8274; meets on the fourth Wednesday
of every month at the Woodstock
Community Centre, Church Street,
Burwood at 7.30 pm.

Western Sydney PC and Compatible User
Group, Ben Sharif, (047) 36 4825; meets on
the third Sunday of the month at 1.30 pm,
27 Cosgrove Crescent, Kingswood 2750,

T! Sydney Home Computer Users’ Group,
PO Box 149, Pennant Hills 2120.

Tuggerah Lakes Computer Users’ Group,
Frank James, 125 Woolana Avenue,
Budgewoi 2262; meetings second Thursday
each month at Old Primary School, Wyong,
at 6.30 pm. (043) 907 339.

Wagga Microbee Users’ Group, John
Simmons, 47 Undurra Drive, Glenfield
2650; meetings first and third Tuesdays
each month in the Tolland-Glenfield _
Neighbourhood Centre at 8.00 pm. (069) 31
1302.

Wizzard User Group, John Mifsod, 150
Bouganville Road, Blackett 2770, (02) 628
0801.

ZX-Spectrum Users’ Club, Craig Kennedy,
PO Box 466, Epping 2121.

Queensland

Adventure Club, Christine Ogden, 37
Samford Road, Leichhardt, ipswich 4305;
for all Adventure-type game players.
Adventure Special Interest Group, Ernie
Sugrue, PO Box 594, Maryborough 4650.
Amstrad Postal Users’ Group, Frank Elliot,
59 27th Avenue, Palm Beach 4221; a group
for isolated Amstrad users — meets
monthly by cassette.

Apple-O — The Brisbane User Group, The
Secretary, PO Box 721, South Brisbane
4101; meetings every third Sunday of
month at Hooper Education Centre, Kuran
Street, Wavell Heights 4012. Centre is open
from 8.30 am till 4.30 pm; members
encouraged to bring Apple along.
Australian Sirius Users’ Group, PO Box
204, Chermside 4032; looks after the needs
of Sirius One and Victor 9000 computer
users; (07) 350 26] I.

BASIC User Group, Chris Lucey, Cranium
Computers, 34 Lawless Street, Blackwater
4717.

Brisbane Medfly Users’ Group, K J Walker,
120 Highgate Street, Coopers Plains 4108.
Brisbane Sinclair (Spectrum) Computer
Club, V Lewis, 37 Samford Road, Ipswich
4305; meets third Sunday at Everton Park
State High School, at 2.00 pm. (07) 355
7809.

Brisbane Super 80 Users’ Group, Gary
Gatfield, (07) 355 3173.

Brisbane Youth Computer Group, A
Harrison, PO Box 396, Sunnybank 4109.
Cairns District Microbee Users’ Group,
Chas Eustance, 21 Marr Street, Edmonton
4869, (070) 55 4531.

Commodore Computer Users’ Group
Queensland, N Chambers (secretary), PO
Box 274, Springwood 4127; (07) 808 2125.
Commodore Users’ Group, John Egan, PO
Box 274, Springwood 4127; for owners of
Pet/CBM and VIC-20 machines. Meetings
held on the first Tuesday of the month at
130 Petrie Terrace, Brisbane 4000. (07) 287
2705.

Computer Owners’ Group, Betty Adcock,
42 Lucan Ave, Aspley 4034; meets second
Wednesday each month, 7.45 pm; all kinds
of computers are catered for. (07) 263
4268.

DEC Personal Computer Special Interest
Group, see NSW entry.

Gold Coast Microbee User Group, Col
McLaren, 1/100 Imperial Parade, Labrador
4215; meetings first Sunday each month,
3.00 pm, at the Southport High School.
(075) 31 4610.

IREE Microcomputer Interest Group, N
Wilson, PO Box 811, Albion 4010.

Mackay Microbee User Group, Geoff
Gehring, PO Box 230, Mackay 4740, (079)
42 3214.

NEC User Group, David Clark, 18 Provence
Street, MacGregor 4109, (07) 343 7680;
meets on the first Friday of each month.
Osborne Users' Group of Queensland Unl,
Glen McBride; meetings second
Wednesday each month, open to all. (07)
870 1177.

Queensland CP/M Users, The Secretary, PO
Box 1025, Milton 4064; meets on the last
Sunday of each month at the University of
Qld, Civil Engineering Room 1.01 (off Staff
House Road) from | pm.

Sega Users’ Group, Robert Horkings, PO
Box 148, Fortitude Valley 4006, (07) 52
5603; meetings first Saturday of each
month, YMCA Hail at I pm.

Southport Commodore Computer Users
Group, Bill Fitzpatrick, PO Box 790,
Southport 4125, (075) 32 0061.
Superboard Users’ Group, Ed Richardson,
146 York Street, Nundah 4012.

Tandy, Apple, Commodore User Group,
Chris Lucey, 34 Lawless Street, Blackwater
4717.

CLUB FILE

The Microcomputer Society, The Secretary,
PO Box 580, Fortitude Valley 4006;
meetings are held on the second Friday of
each month in the Old Town Hall, corner
Vulture and Graham Streets, South
Brisbane 4101. Meetings start at 7.30 pm:
if main gate is closed use the back
stairway.

Townsville Microbee User Group (TMUG),
Mannie Van Rijswijk, PO Box 5751 MC,
Townsville 4810; meetings 7.30 pm on
second and fourth Mondays each month
on the Ground Floor, St Margaret Mary's
Secondary School, Crowle Street, Hermit
Park 4812.

TRS80/System 80 Computer Group,
Secretary, 16 Laver Street, Macgregor 4109;
meets first Sunday each month at Lindum
Hall, Lindum Street, Lindum 4178, at 2.00
pm. (07) 343 5771.

University of Queensland Osborne User's
Group, Glen McBride (president) (07) 870
1177, or Richard Duczmal (treasurer) (07)
377 3139; meets on the second Wednesday
of the month, in the Axon building on
campus. Membership is open to both
students and non-students.

VZ-200 Pacific Region Club, | D’Alton, 39
Agnes Street, Toowong 4066, (07) 371 3707.
ZX81 Club, P Carswell, 22 Braud Street,
Bundaberg 4670.

South Australia

Adelaide Atari Computer Club (AACC),
Secretary, PO Box 333, Norwood 5067;
meets at Gilles Street Primary School, City,
on first Monday (second if first is on
public holiday) of each month.

Adelaide Lotus |-2-3 User Group, Paul
Wragg, Pannell Kerr Foster, GPO Box 1969,
Adelaide 5001.

Adelaide Micro User Group, R G
Stevenson, 36 Sturt Street, Adelaide 5000;
for TRS80 and System 80 users.

Adelaide Osborne Group, Russell Barter,
The Secretary, GPO Box 603, Adelaide
5001.

Adelaide Sega User's Group, Jamie
Andersen, (08) 263 5020 (after 4 pm);
meets on the first and third Wednesdays of
the month, from 7 pm, at the Lutheran
church hall, 137 Archer Street, North
Adelaide.

Adelaide Super-80 User’s Group, Mr L
White, The Secretary, 503 Churchill Road,
Kilburn 5084; meets on the third Monday
of each month, (the second Monday in the
case of a public holiday) at 7.30 pm in the
canteen of Mason & Cox Foundry, 123
Hayward Avenue, Torrensville 5031, (08)
260 6226. Subscription: $5 pa.

Beebnet, BBC and Econet User Group PO
Box 262, Kingswood 5062; the group
intends to produce a newsletter ona
monthly basis. It is interested in any
software producers or distributors who
would be interested in serving the group's

market requirements.

Commedore/VIC Computer Users’
Association, Mr Eddie Hann, 13 Miranda
Road, Paralowie 5108; the SA branch
meets monthly.

Compucolor-Intecolor Users of South
Australia, PO Box 86, Torrensville 5031,
(08) 352 3296.

DEC Persona] Computer Special Interest
Group, see NSW entry.

IBM-PC South Australia Users’ Group, PO
Box 68, Walkerville 5081.

Kaypro User Group, Ralf Engler, 16/34
John Street, Payneham 5070.

Microbee Users’ Group of South Australia
(MUGSA), The Secretary, GPO Box 767,
Adelaide 5001.

Sega Users’ Club, H.A. Jacobson, 10
Pioneer Avenue, O'Sullivan Beach 5166;
(08) 382 7967.

South Australlan Apple Users’ Club, IH.
Bagust, c/o The Bookshelf, 169 Pirie Street,
Adelaide 5000, (08) 293 7183; meets on the
first Friday of each month in the Prospect
Town Hall.

South Australian Commodore Computers’
User Group, Eddie Hann, Secretary, PO
Box 427, North Adelaide 5006; meetings
second Tuesday each month, 7.30 pm, at
Royal Caledonian Hall, 379 King William
St, Adelaide 5000. (08) 258 6367.

South Australian Foundation for Computer
Literacy, Michae] Kennett, PO Box 210,
Norwood 5067; caters for children from six
years (unaccompanied) or four years with
older friend or brother or sister. Special
emphasis on the needs of handicapped,
educably disabled and socially
disadvantaged children, but all children
welcome. Family participation encouraged.
(08) 51 5474.

South Australian Peach User Group, Geoff
Drury, 27 Creslin Tce, Camden Park 5038;
special interest group attached to the SA
Microprocessor Group, which holds
separate meetings: (08) 295 2778 ah.
South Australian Microprocessor Group
Inc (SAMG), The Secretary, PO Box 113,
Plympton 5038, (08) 278 7288.

Sorcerer Users’ Group of South Australia,
Don Ide, 14 Scott Road, Newton 5074.
South Australian Apple Users’ Club, The
Secretary, c/- The Bookshelf, 169 Pirie
Street, Adelaide 5000.

South Australian Microprocessor Group
Inc. (SAMG), secretary Rick Mathews, 9
Anglesey Ave., St Georges 5064; (08) 79
3445; meets second Friday of every month,
Institute of Engineers, Aust Bldg, I1
Bagget St, North Adelaide.

South East Computer Enthusiasts’ Group,
Glenn Mibus, 3 Millard St, Mount Gambier
5290; meetings second and fourth Tuesday
of each month from 6.30 pm at Mt
Gambier High Schoo] Computer Room, for
all machines and interested parties. (087) p>»
25 1046.

151

Victoria

Albury Wodonga User's Group, Jenny Scott
(secretary), (060)24 3225 or Don McLennan
(president) (060) 46 028; meets second
Wednesday of every month at Wodonga
High School at 7.30 pm.

Apple Users’ Society of Melbourne, D
Halprin, PO Box 43, Forest Hill 3131, (03)
387 3221.

Atari User Group Melbourne, Kelvin
Eldridge, PO Box 173, Reservoir 3073.
Australian Forth Interest Group, Tony
Latermore, PO Box 704, Sale 3850, (051) 44
2011.

Australian North Star Users’ Association,
PO Box 194, Wangaratta 3677.

Ballarat Computer Users’ Group, Publicity
Officer: John Preston, (053) 31 4363.
Billanook Computer Forum, Maurie
Canterbury, Cardigan Road, Mooroolbark
3138, (03) 725 5388.

BUG 80 (Burwood Users’ Group), PO Box
46, Blackburn South 3130.

Chip 8, 6800, 1802 User Group, Frank Rees,
27 King Street, Boort 3537.

Compucolor Users’ Group, L Ferguson, 12
Morphett Avenue, Ascot 3342.

DEC Personal Computer Special Interest
Group, see NSW entry.

Forth Interest Group, Lance Collins, PO
Box 103, Camberwell 3124; meets on the
first Friday of the month at the Bowen
Street Neighbourhood Centre, 102 Bowen
Street, Camberwell South 3124. (03) 29
2600.

Geelong Commodore Computer Club, D
Gerrard, 15 Jacaranda Place, Belmont 3216,
(03) 44 2863.

Geelong Computer Club, Colin Lowne, PO
Box 520, Geelong 3220; (052) 55 1232.
Meets at 8 pm, on the first and third
Friday of each month in the rooms of the
Geelong Amateur Radio Club, Storrer
Street, East Geelong.

IBM & Columbia Computer Users’ Club,
Giles Bray, 22/11 Auburn Grove, Hawthorn
East 3123; meets second Tuesday each
month, 7.30 pm, at the Victorian College of
Pharmacy, (03) 82 7632.

Kaypro Users’ Group of Victoria, George
Kunz, PO Box 159, Forest Hill 3131,
meetings fourth Sunday each month at
Burwood State College Community
Resources Centre at 2 pm. (03) 857 5462.
KAOS (Ohio Scientific), David Anear, 49
Millewa Crescent, Dallas 3047.

Latrobe Valley Colour Computer Users’
Group, George Francis, 31 Donald Street,
Morwell 3840; for TRS80 and MCIO users.
(03} 22 1389.

Melbourne Atari Computer Enthusiasts,
PO Box 340, Rosanna 3084; meetings held
on secondSunday of each month (except
January) at 12 noon at Monash University
Rotunda.

Melbourne Lotus !-2-3 Users’ Group,
Robert Taylor, (03) 267 4800.

[52

CLUB FILE

Melbourne Microbee Users’ Group (MBUG
Australia Inc.), President Grant Forrest, PO
Box 157, Nunawading 3131; meets at 7.30
pm on the second Wednesday of each
month at Mount Waverley Crescent and
Stephenson's Road, Mount Waverley.
Different types of membership including
country, bulletin board, city and student.
Melbourne PC User Group — IBM and
compatibles, The Secretary, c/o Pannell
Kerr Foster, 14th Floor, 500 Bourke Street,
Melbourne 3000, (03) 830 5067 between 6
& 8pm; meets the second Wednesday of
each month at 6 pm in the ground floor
auditorium, Clunies Ross House, 191 Royal
Parade, Parkville.

Melbourne Hitachi Users’ Group, Branko
Colavizza, PO Box 191, Rosanna 3084, (03)
434 2541.

Melbourne Super 80 Users' Group, Hon.
Sec. Victor Shuttleworth, (03) 723 2713.
MICOM (Microcomputer Club of
Melbourne), PO Box 60, Canterbury 3126.
National Mutual Micro Users’ Group, R
Prewett, NMLA, PO Box 2830AA, GPO
Melbourne 3001; for National Mutual staff.
National Sinclair User Group, PO Box 148,
Glen Waverley 3150.

NEC Portable Users’ Group, D Green;
meetings second Wednesday of each
month at Myers Computer Centre,
Lonsdale Street, at 7.30 pm. (03) 611 3380.
Northern/Western Suburbs Computer
Users’ Group, John King (Secretary), 284
Union Road, Moonee Ponds 3039. Contact
CP/M Data Systems, (03) 338 9304.
Peninsula Computer Club, George
Thompson, 3 Patterson Street, Bonbeach
3196; meets second Tuesday each month
at Chisholm College, Frankston 3199; many
types of computers catered for. (03) 772
2674.

Sega Users’ Club, Peter Lindeman, 6 Bay
Street, Port Melbourne 3207.
Seymour-Pucka Computer Club, Garry
Sutton, 25 Malaya Road, Puckapunyal 3662;
(057) 93 1091.

Sharp Computer Users’ Association, The
President, 7 Faye Street, East Burwood
3151.

Spectravideo Users’ Group, Mitch Raitt, 3
Clivejay Street, Glen Waverley 3150, (03)
233 2357.

Sorcerer Computer Users’ (Australia),
Secretary, GPO Box 2402, Melbourne 3001.
TI-99/4A Users’ Group Melbourne, Wayne
Worladge, 123 Ashburn Grove, Ashburton
3147, (03) 25 1832.

The Motorola User Group (MUGS), Clive
Allan, 11 Haros Avenue, Nunawading 3131,
group is interested in 6800/02/09-based
computers, particularly if running Flex,
although this is not a prerequisite to join.
(03) 878 1298. |
Upper Yarra Computer Reference Group,
for microcomputer enthusiasts and
educators. Contact Albin Wallace, Woori

Yallock Education Centre, (059) 64 6617.
Victorian Association of Computer
Educators, Arthur Totrall, PO Box 69,
Whittlesea 3757.

B5Victorian Osborne Users’ Group, Bill
Baker, PO Box 169, Camberwell 3124, (03)
850 4187.

Victorian VZ-200 User Group, Luigi
Chiodo, 24 Don St, Reservoir 3073, (03) 460
3770.

Victorian Wizzard Users’ Group, Barry
Klein, 24 Russell Street, Bulleen 3105, (03)
850 7275.

Wizzard User Group, for owners of Dick
Smith Wizzard and Funvision computers.
The group operates only by mail and
phone at present. Contact Barry Klein, 24
Russell Street, Bulleen 3105, (03) 850 7275.
Yarra Valley Commodore Users’ Group —
affiliated with the Melbourne Central
Commodore Users’ Group, Barrie Vickers.
(secretary}, PO Box 176, Lilydale 3140, (03)
735 0638; meets on the first Tuesday of
each month at the Melba Hall, Cnr Market
& Castella Streets, Lilydale at 8 pm.
Yarrawonga Computer User Group, Chris
Younger, 10 Witt Street, Yarrawonga 3730,
(057) 44 385; for all machines.

ZX81 Software Exchange, c/- Chips Taens,
5 Muir Street, Mount Waverley 3149.

Western Australia

Agriculture Users’ Group, c/- Mr R Fenwick,
Dept. of Agriculture, Albany 6330. For
farmers and the agriculture service
industries.

CU West WA Compucolor/Intecolor Users’
Group, John Newman, 8 Hillcrest Drive,
Darlington 6070.

DEC Personal Computer Special Interest
Group, see NSW entry. |
KAOS-WA,Gerry Ligtermoet, 39 Cloister
Ave, Manning 6152; for Ohio Scientific
Users. (09) 450 5081.

Kaypro User Group of Western Australia,
Ainslie Sharpe, PO Box 91, Claremont
6010; meetings second and fourth
Mondays of each month in the Canteen of
the Department of Agriculture, Jarrah Road,
South Perth 6151. (09) 384 5511.
Microbee Users’ Group of Western
Australia, The Secretary, 4 Garnkirk Road,
Greenwood 6024, (09) 447 5366.
OSWEST-Osborne Users’ Group of
Western Australia, Mal Ferguson, PO Box
149, Applecross 6153; meets first and third
Wednesdays at the Palmyra Recreation
Centre and the Subiaco Exhibition Hall
respectively from 7.30 pm, for Osborne and
other interested computer users. (09) 295
1449,

Perth 80 Users’ Group, C Powell; for
System 80 and TRS80 users. (09) 457 6849.
Perth Hitachi Peach Club, The Secretary, |
Charf Court, Riverton 6155: for Hitachi

market director

DEALERS, distributors, mail-order houses and other commercial organisations or individuals who have a message to spread but don't want to outlay the sums required
for full-scale advertising can take advantage of our Market Directory — small ads to help those searching for outlets, services and equipment. For details contact Your
Computer on (02) 663-9999 or write to PO Box 21, Waterloo 2017.
For 1/12 DISPLAY ADVERTS in the Market Directory (SOmm deep x 60mm wide) costs are as follows: 1 insertion $100. 3 insertions $95 ea. 6 insertions $90 ea.
12 insertions $80 ea. 24 insertions $70 ea. Closing date = 6 weeks prior to publication date. Supply finished artwork — or copy to Set & Makeup (at $25 extra to
insertion cost). Payment strictly with copy. Call (02) 663-9999 for your booking NOW.

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flowchart so you can customise or
PORT TO ANOTHER MACHINE.

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RENT IBM SOFTWARE

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Peach and 6809s. (09) 367 5880.

Sharp PC Users’ Group, John Paulic, PO
Box 79, Gosnells 6110, (09) 398 6303.
Sega Users’ Group, John McClemmon, 33
Favel] Way, Balga 6061; (09) 342 5905.

Sorcerer Computer Users of Australia, The’

Secretary, 90 King George Street, South
Perth 6151, (09) 367 6351.

The West Australian Atari Computer Club,
Mr Alf Gaebier (Secretary), PO Box 7169,
Cloisters Square, Perth 6000.

ViIC-Ups, G. Padfield, (09) 451 4629.
Western Australian Wizzard Users’ Group,
John Reid, i3 Wenlock Road, Wattleup
6166, (09) 410 2359.

Western Australian ZX Users’ Group, Phil
Taylor, (09} 328 4111 bh.

Western Australian University Computer
Club, 2nd Floor, University of WA, Guild
Building, (09} 386 1455.

Tasmania

Apricot User's Group, Rick Snell, PO Box
286 C, GPO Hobart 7001. (002) 23 399926.
DEC Personal Computer Special Interest

CLUB FILE

Group, see NSW entry.

Devonport Computer Interest Group, John
Steveson, RSD 422, Sheffield 7306, (004) 92
3237.

Down Under Atari User Group; contact
Robert Bronstein, 191 Rokeby Street,
Howrah 7018.

Spectravideo Computer Users’ Group, Mr
W P Decket, 48 Heather Street, Launceston
7250; membership costs $15, which
entitles members to a newsletter and to
discounts on computer equipment. (003)
44 4836.

Tandy Hobart Users’ Group, Ms Kj Rees,
GPO Box 1271 N, Hobart 7001, {002) 72
1426; meets on the third Thursday of each
month — contact Ms Rees for details of
venue.

Tasbeeb, John Hannon, PO Box 25, North
Hobart 7000; meetings first Monday each
month at Elizabethan Matriculation
College in D Block at 8 pm, for BBC
computers. (002) 34 2704.

Tasmanian Apple Users Group, Ray
Williams, PO Box 188, North Hobart 7008,

meets third Tuesday each month at 8.15
pm, 73 Murray Street, Hobart.

Tasfnanian Ti User Group, Co-ordinator, |
Benboyd Court, Rokeby 7019; meetings
third Sunday of each month at University
of Tasmania, room 373. {002} 29 4009.
TAS-Micro, Peter Deckert, 1/456 West
Tamar Road, Riverside 7250.

Northern Territory

Alice Springs Microbee Users’ Group,
Douglas Craigie, c/- PO Box 3230, Alice
Springs 5750.

Darwin Microbee Users’ Group (DBUG),
Felino Molina, PO Box 3111, Darwin 5794,
(089) 82 5613 bh, (089) 88 1455 ah.
Northern Territory Computer Club, lan
Diss; meets at Wulagi Primary School on
the first and third Thursday of each month
at 7.30 pm. Users of al] machines and other
interested parties welcome. (089) 27 9208.
Northern Territory 80 Computer User
Group, R T O’Brien, 433 McMillans Road,
Jingili 5792.

VZ-200 Users’ Club, 7 Abbott Crescent,
Malak 5793, (089) 27 2830.

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The new Amstrad 6128.
A comparable 128K computer

could easily cost you
twice as much.

The popular Amstrad personal
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The Amstrad 6128 offers a
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Other computers with similar
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$800 package offers

eM Ue Cem eye
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¢ Powerful 128K computer
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¢ Inbuilt floppy disc drive
e CP/M PLUS* and
AMSDOS operating systems
¢ GSX Graphics Enhancement
¢ Comprehensive User Manual
¢ Introductory program and
exercises

Rapid loading,
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The availability of sucha low
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Other key features of the
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serious business requirements.

Wide range of programs
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Most of the programs deve-
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These cover a broad range of sub-
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Amstrad6128com- {|
puter offers a wealth #G)
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a ee
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TPR/623

A

Accumulator: The major register
of a CPU, in which arithmetic and
logical functions are performed.
Some computers have several
registers which can function as
accumulators; in others, some
registers can perform a subset of
the full set of operations.
Acoustic Coupler: A device for
connecting the telephone hand-
set to data communications
equipment.

Address: A memory location
which can contain data or an
instruction.

Al: Artificial Intelligence.

Algol: Algorithmic Language. An
early computer programming
language for mathematical ap-
plications. Widely used in
Europe, it embodied early struc-
tured programming concepts and
was a precursor of Pascal.
Algorithm: A set of instructions
which define a method of obtain-
ing some result (usually mathe-
matical). A cooking recipe is an
algorithm, as is a knitting pattern.
Alphanumeric: Composed of let-
ters or numbers or both.
Analogue (Analog): Representa-
tion of a value by a voltage or
some other measurable datum,
rather than a binary or other
representation based on count-

ing.
Application: What you do with
your computer. For example

games, word processing and gra-
phics.

Array: A set of values under a
common variable name, ac-
cessed through a subscript. For
example Ajl| is the first item in
array A, A|2| is the second, and
so on. A|JN| is the Nth item.
ASCII: American Standard Code
for Information Interchange; a
common system for representing
character information.

ASM: Assembler. Also a_ suffix
added to assembly language file
names under CP/M to distin-
guish them from other files with
the same name.

Assembler: A program which
converts assembly language into
its corresponding machine (or
object) code, which can be exe-
cuted by the computer.
Assembly Language: A language
in which each machine code in-
struction is represented by a
short mnemonic which is much

156

more comprehensible to the
programmer. For example, the
8080 machine code instruction:
JOOIOL1Ois: SUBL(subtract con-
tents of register L from accum-
ulator) in assembly language.
Each line of assembly language
becomes one machine instruc-
tion.

Assign: To make one thing equal
to another: for example, [AB
assigns the value of B to A.
Attribute: A property possessed
by some object, such as a file
being read-only.

Background Task: In a multi-
programming environment, a
low-priority program which runs
when the processor has nothing
else to do.

Backup: An extra copy of a disk,
tape or file taken as a precaution

against damage to the original.

Bandwidth: The range of fre-
quencies that can be carried by a
communications channel.

Base: The lowest number inex-
pressible as a single digit in a
given number system.

BASIC: Beginners’ All-purpose
Symbolic Instruction Code. In-
vented in 1970 at Dartmouth
College by Kemeny and Kurtz as
a teaching language, it has since
been enhanced in its more exotic
forms into one of the most soph-
isticated yet easy-to-use lan-
guages available on personal
computers. Its major rival is Pas-
cal, which has the added virtue
of stressing structured program
design.

Baud: The number of bits trans-
mitted per second along a data
communications line.

BCD: Binary Coded Decimal, a 4-
bit binary representation of the
digits 0 through 9, with two BCD
digits usually packed in a byte.
BDOS: Basic Disk Operating Sys-
tem. The major functional com-
ponent of the CP/M DOS.
Binary: The base 2 system of
counting used by digital com-
puters.

Binary Search: A method of find-
ing an entry ina table by succes-
sively halving the table until all
that's left is the desired entry.
Binary Tree: A form of data
structure in which entries are

tagged on at the end of the

appropriate branches.
BIOS: Basic Input/Output Sys-

GLOSSARY

tem. The part of the CP/M operat-
ing system which is different for
each type of machine and pro-
vides any special I/O routines for
disks, terminal, printer, and so
on.

Bit: Binary digit, being the basic
unit of data storage. Either | or
0, off or on, true of false.

Block: A physical division of data
in a logical record.

Boot: To load the operating sys-
tem into the computer from a
disk or tape, either initially or
subsequently after running a
program.

Bootstrap: To use one short
program to load a longer loader
program which then loads the
operating system.

Branch Instruction: A program
instruction which causes the
computer to jump to another
instruction.

Buffer: An area of memory used
for temporary storage while trans-
ferring data to or from a peripheral
such as a printer or a disk drive.
Bug: An error in a program. Makes
programmers itch.

Bus: A set of wires over which.
data, addresses, or control sig-
nals are transferred between the
central processor and memory or
VO devices.

Byte: A computer word eight bits
wide. A byte in memory can hold

a character or a binary number

between zero and 255 (or -[28
and 127), or a computer instruc-
tion.

C: A programming language,
developed at Bell Labs, which is
particularly convenient for writ-
ing system utility programs.
Call: A jump to a subroutine
which leaves the return address
on the microprocessor stack, so
when the subroutine is finished
executing control returns to
where it left off.

CBASIC: A commercial version of
the BASIC language, running
under the CP/M operating sys-
tem. Doesn't use line numbers
on every line. and is compiled,
rather than interpreted like
Microsoft BASIC.

CCITT: Consultative Committee
on International Telegraphy and
Telephony. The committee sets
standards for various aspects of
telephone and telegraph usage.
CCP: Console Command Proces-

sor. The part of the CP/M operat-
ing system that reads a com-
mand line and sorts out what it
means.

Chain: To automatically run one
program after another.
Character: A letter or number, or
in some circumstances a control
code such as ‘carriage return’.
Checksum: A running total of the
characters in a file, recorded or
transmitted with the file so that
errors can be detected.

COBOL: Common _— Business
Oriented Language; a high-level
language, mainly used in busi-
ness applications.

Code:

Absoiute: Machine instruc-
tions which are intended to be
loaded and executed in a par-
ticular area of memory.

Object: Machine instructions,
as distinct from the source code
from which it was generated.

Re-entrant: Code which may
be called by more than one pro-
gram at a time.

Relocatable: Code which can
be loaded and run anywhere in
the computer's memory.

Source code: A program writ-
ten in assembly language, or a
high-level language such as
BASIC, which must then be
assembled or compiled to
produce the object code which
can actually be executed.

Cold Boot: To start up a system
from scratch, loading the operat-
ing system from disk or tape.
Cold Start: See Cold Boot.

COM File: In CP/M parlance, a
command file; that is, a machine
code program that can actually
be run.

Command: An instruction from
the console for the system to do
something. |
Comment: A note added into a
program to help the reader (or
programmer) to understand its
Operation. Does not affect the
program’s execution in any way.
Compiler: A program which ac-
cepts as input a source file writ-
ten in a high-level language, and
produces as output an object file
containing the machine instruc-
tions which are actually

executed.

Concatenate: To join two strings
together, one after the other.
Conditional: A test; for example,
is X greater than Y:

IFX > ¥Y THEN GOSUB 500
(BASIC)

Conditionals are one of the most
powerful features of any com-
puter language.

Configure: To organise the I/O or
other aspects of a system.
Console: The keyboard and
screen from which the operator
controls the computer.

Control Characters: Codes which
perform functions like acknow-
ledging correct receipt of a mes-
sage or requesting retransmis-
sion of an erroneous message.
Control characters are defined as
part of the ASCII and similar
codes.

CP/M: A disk operating system
for 8080- and Z80-based micro-
computers. Allows the user to
store information and programs
in named files, as well as manag-
ing disk storage and input/out-
put functions. Other disk operat-
ing systems include TRSDOS {on
TRS-80), DOS 3.3 (for Apple) and
MSDOS on many !6-bit micros.
CPS: Characters Per Second.
CPU: Central Processing Unit.
The part of the computer respon-
sible for fetching, decoding and
performing instructions.

Crash: A situation where the sys-
tem becomes inoperative, due to
a hardware or software error.
CRT: Cathode Ray Tube. Usually
refers to the screen of a video
terminal.

D

Daisywheel Printer, A high-
quality printer which has a print-
head in the shape of a daisy.
Data: Information to be pro-
cessed by, or output from, a
program.

DBMS: Data Base Management
System. A program which man-
ages the systematic storage and
retrieval of a centralised data
pool.

DDT: Dynamic Debugging Tool.
A program that assists the user
to find errors in machine code
programs.

Debug: To locate and fix errors.
Decimal: Based on ten.

Device: A piece of equipment
such as a printer or tape drive
which the computer uses.
Directory: A list of the programs
on a disk (or occasionally tape}
together with necessary informa-
tion, such as length ancl location.
Disk: A flat, circular magnetic
surface on which the computer
can store and retrieve data and

programs. Is fast compared with
tape, particularly when informa-
tion is not stored sequentially.

Disk Drive: The mechanical

assembly which rotates the disk

and positions the read/write
head.

DOS: Disk Operating System.
Disk Operating System: A
program which operates one or
more disk drives automatically
and manages the system.
Display: The computer's output
device at the console, usually a
TV-like display of letters and
numbers; sometimes the com-
puter can produce graphics.
(charts and pictures) on the dis-
play.

Distributed System: A system in
which information is stored in
several computers; peripherals.
may be shared, but the informa-
tion storage is decentralised.
Dot Matrix Printer: A printer
which creates a text image froma

cluster of dots; produces rela-

tively low-quality, high-speed
text and graphic output.

Double Density: A method of
recording twice as much infor-
mation on a floppy disk, requir-
ing a higher-quality recording
sutface than on a single-density
disk.

Driver: A program which controls
input and output to a device.

FE

EBCDIC: Extended Binary Coded
Decimal Interchange Code; an 8-
bit character coding system —
IBM's answer to ASCIL

ED: An editor program: part of
CP/M.

Editor: A program which lets you
alter and correct source files ancl
ather documents.

Error Message: Tells you some-
thing went wrong, and
sometimes what

Execute; To run a program: to
follow its instructions.

F

FIFO: First tn, first out. A tech-
nique used in memory man-
agement procedures, or a device
used in buffering data flow be-
tween two asynchronous devices
operating at different speeds.
File: A continuous collection of
characters (or bytes] saved ona
disk or tape for later reloading.
Fixed Point: Counting in integers

CiaLOSSARY

only. Usually limited to small
values, and restricted in
accuracy, giving rise to ridiculous
answers such as 9/5 |

Flag: A variable, sometimes a
single bit, which can have only
two values and is used to in-
dicate some condition.

Floating Point: The kind of arith-
metic used in scientific cal-
culators.

Floppy Disk: A disk, made of
thin, flexible mylar, and enclosed
in a card jacket, which can be
used for magnetic storage. There
are three varieties, 9cm, I3.em
and 20cm. These can typically
store somewhere between
140,000 and three million bytes
(characters).

Flowchart: Symbolic representa-
tion of the sequence of instruc-
tions in a program.

Focal: Formula Calculator. A
simple language rather like a
small BASIC, found on some
mini and microcomputers.
FORTRAN: Formula Translator.
One of the first computer lan-
guages, and beginning to show
it, although still the king of the
scientific or number crunching
languages.

Function: A sub-program that
processes variables tn some
well-defined way.

G

Garbage Collection: The process
of going through memory or disk
space, reclaiming all the redun-
dant used space.

Gigabyte: One thousand mega-
bytes (1,024,000,000 bytes).
Glitch: A pulse of electronic
‘noise’ which may cause a system
failure.

Global: A variable which is
known to all the parts of a pro-
gram. See local.

H

Handshaking: A technique for
controlling data communication
between two. devices: data flow
only occurs when the receiving
device sends.a signal indicating
it is ready to receive.

Hard Disk: A disk macle of hard
material, which is larger, faster
and more fragile than a floppy
disk, but capable of storing 70
million bytes or more.

Hard Copy: Printout.

Hardware: The bits of a com-

puter you_can kick,.as apposed to
the programs you can only swear
at.

Hashing: A method of reducing
the size of a table which other-
wise would have mostly empty
entries.

Hexadecimal: The method of
counting to the base sixteen or
the method of splitting binary
digits into groups of four, which
is the same thing. In. hex. you
count:0123456789ABCD
EFIOT!E 1213 141516171819
IA IB IC ID IE IF 20.21 22.

I

IC: Integrated Circuit.

Identifier: A label, or the name
of a variable.

Index: A variable which usually
pote to an entry in a table or
Index Register: A processor regi-
ster which is used to access
tables and lists in memory.
Indirect Addressing: Referring to
a vatiable which actually con-
tains the address of another
variable.

Inkjet Printer: A device which
prints by electrostatically aiming
a jet of ink onto the paper.
Input: To get data into the com-
puter.

Instruction: A step the computer
can perform.

Instruction Set: The range of
commands which can be per-
formed by a particular processor.
Integer: A whole number.
Integrated Circuit: A circuit built
on a single chip of silicon.
Interface: The (hardware or soft-
ware} connection between any
two devices.

Intermediate Code: A special
kind of object code which cannot
be run directly on the computer,
but must be interpreted.
Interpreter; A program which
examines source code a line ata
time, decides what it means, and
then does it. Compare with com-
piler |

Interrupt: To: electronically drag
the computer away from what it
is doing in order to respond to
some time-critical situation.

(/O: Input/Output.

VO-bound: A. process in which
the performance speed is limited
by the speed of input/output.

157

Jump Instruction: Normally, con-
trol proceeds from one instruc-
tion to the next, one after the
other. A jump instruction passes
control, not to the following ins-
truction, but to some _ other.
Jumps can be conditional.

Kilo-. Prefix meaning one
thousand.
Kilobyte: 1024 bytes (Kbyte).

Kilobaud: !000 baud (Kbaud)}.

L

Label: A word which identifies
the destination of a call or jump
instruction, or simply identifies
some location in memory.

LAN: Local Area Network.
Language: The set of instruc-
tions, and rules for stringing
them together, which you use to
instruct the computer what to
do.

Laser Printer: A printer which
works a bit like a photocopier,
but uses a laser to draw an image
directly onto the printing drum.
LCD: Liquid Crystal Display.
Library: A set of programs, or
sub-programs, that can be called
from your program so you don't
have to waste space with a block
of commonly used code; for
example, a date routine can be
held in a library.

LIFO: Last In, First Out. A device
or data structure in which the
most recent item stored is the
first available for retrieval. A
stack is a LIFO.

Line Number: A number at the
beginning of a line, which iden-
tifies it in a similar way to a label.
Line Printer: A high-speed prin-
ter for computer output.

Link: Part of a data item in a list,
which tells the computer the
location of the next data item.
LISP: List Processor. A language
much favoured by the artificial
intelligence community.

List: A sequence of consecutive
data items.

Load: To transfer some data or
program into the computer
memory.

Locate: To ‘fix' a relocatable
code so it will only run if loaded
in a particular location.

Local Area Network: A system of

158

interconnected computers, within
a limited geographical space
(usually in a single building).
Logical Device: A device as the
computer ‘sees’ it: what the com-
puter regards as the ‘list device’
may be one of several ‘physical
devices’, such as a line printer or
teletype.

Loop: To repeatedly execute a
sequence of instructions; part of a
computer program that is so
executed.

M

Machine Language: The binary
codes the machine actually
executes.

Macro: A user-defined sequence
of instructions which can be inser-
ted anywhere in a program. See
Library.

Macro-assembler: An assembler
which can utilise macros.
MBASIC: Microsoft BASIC, the
BASIC used in the TRS-80, PET,
Apple il and so on.

Megabyte: One thousand kilo-
bytes — i,024,000 bytes (Mbyte).
Memory: Where the computer
stores data and programs inter-
nally for fast access.

Menu: A display which offers the
operator a choice of alternatives.
Microcomputer: A small com-
puter based on a microprocessor.
Micro-floppy: A 9 cm ‘floppy’ disk,
produced with a rigid plastic case.
Microprocessor: The central pro-
cessing unit of a computer, built
into a single silicon chip.
Millisecond: One thousandth of a
second.

Mini-diskette: A 13cm _ floppy
disk.
MIPS: Million Instructions Per

Second. A measure of processor
speed.

Modem: Modulator/Demodulator.
Device used to link a computer to
the telephone line. It encodes
digital bits into frequencies, and
vice-versa.

MOS: Metal Oxide Semiconduc-
tor. Technology used for manu-
facturing high-density semi-
conductors. CMOS (complemen-
tary MOS) technology is character-
ised by low energy consumption,
and is increasingly used in porta-
ble computers.

Mouse: A device connected to a
computer which, when moved
around on a desk, moves a pointer
on the computer screen.

MP/M: A multi-user version of

GLOSSARY

CP/M.

Multiplexer: Device used to divide
a communications line among a
number of users.

N

Nanosecond: One
(.000000001) of a second.
Nibble: Half a byte (4 bits).
Node: A connection point on a
network.

Network: A system of inter-con-
nected computers.

O

Object Code: Machine code.
Object File: A file containing
object code.

Object Module: An object file
containing part of a program,
ready to be linked to others.
Octal: The system of counting to
base eight, or grouping bits in
threes.

Offset: To give the operating sys-
tem the characteristics of a file so
that it can subsequently read or
write it.

Operand: The number an oper-
ator (+, -, and so on) operates on.“
Operator: An arithmetic function
or some other function which
alters variables.

Optic Fibres; Cables made from
thin fibres of glass (or similar
material). Signais are encoded as
light and transmitted along the
cables.

Optimisation: Making a program
work better (or faster, or using less
memory).

Output: What the system produces.
Overlay: A technique for efficient
use of memory space, in which
different routines use the same
memory locations. Routines
using the same area are held ina
backup store, and transferred
into memory when needed.

billionth

P

Packed Data: Data which shares
the same address, and has to be
unpacked before use.

Packet Switching: A system of
communicating data by dividing
it into small packets addressed
to particular receivers.
Page: A length of
typically 256 bytes.
Parallel Transmission: A method
of moving data so. that all
elements of acompound unit are
sent simultaneously. For exam-

memory,

ple, the eight bits in a byte may
be sent at the same time by
using eight channels. This is the
method used within the com-
puter, and with some printers.
Fast and expensive.

Parameter: A constant which
sometimes has to be varied.
Parity; An extra bit on the end of
a character or byte for error
detection.

Pascal: A modern structured lan-
guage which may eventually rival
BASIC in popularity for micro-
computers.

Password: A secret word the sys-
tem may demand of you before
allowing you access to certain (or
all) programs or data.

Patch: A temporary (ha, ha) fix
on a bug.

Peripheral: A piece of equipment
the computer uses, like a printer,
disk drive, or modem.

Physical Device: See Logical
Device.

Picosecond: One _ trillionth
(.000000000001) of a second.
PIP: Peripheral Interchange
Program. A CP/M utility for copy-
ing files between devices. |
PL/I: Programming Language
One. A good general purpose
commercial language.

Pointer: A variable used for in-
direct addressing.

Polish Notation: A method of
separating operators and oper-
ands; for example. + 5 4 is Pol-
ish notation for 4 + 5.

Poll: To ask a peripheral if it
requires service. For example, a
processor will regularly check a
terminal to see if it has output
ready to be processed.

Port: A physical input/output
connection point.

Postfix Notation: Also known as
Reverse Polish Notation, this is
similar to Polish; + 4 5 means 4
oD)

Preprocessor: A program which
does part of a job to make life
easier for the program which
follows: for example, a macro
processor before an assembler.
Priority: The resolution of which
interrupt is serviced first if two
should arrive at the same time.
Process: A program.
Processor-bound: A process in
which the limiting performance
factor is the speed at which the
processor can perform the re-
quired computations.

Program: A sequence of instruc-
tions which can be understood.

and ultimately followed by a com-
puter.

Prompt: A message asking the
operator or user to supply infor-
mation.

Protocol: The rules governing the
exchange of information be-
tween two devices.

Queue: A list in which entries are
made at one end, and removed
from the other.

R

R/O: Read Only; cannot be over-
written.

RAM: Random Access Memory.
Random Access Memory: The
computer's internal memory,
which is used to hold running
programs and data, The com-
puter can write and read RAM.
ROM: Read Only Memory. |
Read Only Memory: Internal
computer memory used to store
programs, which cannot be
erased or overwritten.

Reader: Paper tape input device.
Read/Write Head: The small coil
which reads and writes on the
surface of a disk.

Real-time: A system in which the
processing of data input to the
computer takes place virtually
simultaneously with the actions
which generate the data.
Record: A set of related data
items. For example, an em-
ployee’s name, address, payroll
number and pay rate

Recursion: The ability of func-
tions in some languages to cal
themselves.

Re-entrant Code: Code which
can be used by several programs

simultaneously. keeping
separate data for each.
Register. A location in the

processor capable of performing
logical or arithmetic functions on
the contents.

Relocatable: Capable of being

moved in memory.

Relocatable Object Module:
Part of a larger program consist-
ing of many such modules, all
linked together and located.
Resident: Permanently in the
system.

Reverse Polish Notation: See
Postfix. |
RS232: (also RS232C) Registered
Standard 232C. A widely used
standard for connecting com-

ponents in.a computer system.
Run: To execute a program.

5

$100: A popular 100-line micro-
computer bus, originally de-
veloped for the first 8080-based
computer.

Save: To store a program on disk
or cassette (particularly BASIC).
Screen: See CRT.

Sector: A section of data on a
disk.

Serial Transmission: Movement
of data one bit at a time. One
byte will be sent as eight bits,
one following the other. Cheap
and slow.

Simulation: Making one system
behave like another.

Software: Programs.

Source Code: The original text
form of .a program.

Source File: A file of source
code.

Source Language: The language
the source code is written in; for
example, BASIC, Assembler, C.
Sort: To arrange items of data in
order.

Spool: Simultaneous Peripheral
Operations Online. A method of
outputting information by queu-
ing information for low-speed
output devices, while simultan-
eously continuing other com-
puter operations.

Stack: A list in which both
entries and removals are made at
the same end. A microprocessor
usually has a hardware stack
which is used to save subroutine
return addresses, for temporary
storage of data, and to pass
variables between subroutines.
String: A sequence of characters.
Submit; To put the system under
control of a file of system com-
mands.

Subroutine: Part of a program
which can be accessed from
several points within the
program.

Symbol: The name of a variable
or a location in memory,
Symbol Table: A table construc-
ted by an assembler or compiler
to give the addresses of all varia-
bles and labels in a program.
System: A collection of hardware
and software, possessed of the
property that the whole is greater
than the sum of the parts.
System Disk: A disk carrying the
operating system

GLOSSARY

T

Teletype: An electro-mechanical
printer/keyboard.

Terabyte: One thousand giga
bytes (1,024,000,000,000 bytes}.
Timeshare: Running several
programs on a system simultan-
eously.

Track: The area under the read/
write head during one rotation of
a disk.

Transient: A program that is only
in memory for a short time
before being overwritten. Often,
the only program that is not a
transient is the operating sys-
tem.

Tree: A list in which each data
item may refer to. several others.
TTY: See Teletype.

U

UART: Universal Asynchronous
Receiver/Transmitter. A device
which handles the serial-to-
parallel and parallel-to-serial
conversion of bits in a data mes-
sage.

Unix: A multi-user, multi-task-
ing, multi-programming operat-
Ing system,

Utility: A program of use to most
users.

Variable. Named quantity that
can take on different values.
VDT: Video Display Terminal.
VDU: Video Display Unit.

Verify: To check that data written
on a disk or tape can be read
again correctly.
Viatel: Telecom
videotext system.
Videotext: Also known as view-
data. A technology which uses
slightly modified domestic tele-
visions to access data from a
computer database along the
telephone lines. Prestel in the
UK was the first such system.
Australia's version is called
Viatel.

Virtual Memory: A technique al-
lowing programs larger than
RAM to run. Only part is in
memory. Parts are swapped from
an online storage device as
required.

Australia’s

W

Warm Boot: To reload the
operating system a second or
subsequent time.

Window: A part of a computer
screen which has been divided
into sections for displaying dis-
tinct information. On some sys-
tems which run a number of
processes at once, each con-
current process may be dis-
played in its own window.
Word: The amount of data
fetched from one memory loca-
tion. Typically one byte, but can
be two on recent processors.
Word Processor: A system for
manipulating, editing, printing
and formatting text files.
WordStar: A proprietary word
processing program.

Word Wrap: A word processing
function which automatically
breaks. lines exceeding the set
right margin limit, and begins
placing the words on the next
line.

Write Protect: To remove the
cover from the notch in a 20cm
floppy disk, so it cannot be writ-
ten on. With [3 cm mini-floppies,
the reverse action (that is, cover-
ing the notch) will write-protect
the disk.

Z,

Z80: A popular 8-bit micro-
processor.

159

SERVICES

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

We are happy to receive your comments and,
if they are of interest to other readers, pub-
lish them. Letters will only be considered for
publication if they include your name and
address, although we can withhold such de-
tails from publishing on request. Note that
we reserve the right to (and probably will)
edit all letters for the sake of brevity, clarity
or accuracy,

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Standard 12-issue rate within Australia: $27.
Surface rate for New Zealand and Papua New
Guinea: $35.60; airmail rate: $47.60. Rates for
other countries on application. All overseas
rates quoted are to be paid in Australian
dollars. Allow up to eight weeks for subscrip-
tion processing.

BACK COPIES

Back copies and single issues are available
from the publisher's office ($2.95) or by mail
($3.95). We will supply photostat copies of
articles where a back issue is not available,
at the single-magazine price for each feature
copied.

READERS’ ENQUIRIES

We will make every effort to answer readers’
written enquiries, if accompanied by a
stamped, self-addressed envelope, although
staff shortages and deadline pressures may
cause delays. Please include your telephone
number(s) with any enquiry. Phone enquiries
not related to subscriptions, readers’ adver-
tlsements, or other ‘service information’ can-
not be accepted.

COPYRIGHT

All material appearing in Your Computer mag-
azine is copyright and cannot be reproduced
in part or in full, by any means, without the
written permission of the Publisher or Man-
aging Editor. Computer clubs and schools
can, however, apply for restricted permanent
reproduction rights for non-commercial, lim-
ited-circulation use (for example, newslet-
ters and class instruction). Given that it
sometimes takes us a while to answer such
requests, you can consider that restricted
permanent rights apply in these cases from
the day you send in your Jetter, and will later
be confirmed (or withdrawn) by our reply.

LIABILITY

Although it is policy to check all material
used in Your Computer for accuracy, useful-
ness and suitability. no warranty, either ex-
pressed or implied, is offered for any losses
due to the use of any material in this maga-
zine.

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS
Contributions to Your Computer are welcomed
and will be given every consideration’.
Please read these notes carefully to get an
idea of the style and format we prefer.

All Contributions: should include your
name, address, and home and office phone

160

numbers {in case we need to check details).
Each page of your submission, and any ma-
terial sent with it, should also carry your
name.

Contributions by Telephone: Contribu-
tors who have modems and suitable software
(in the MODEM7/YAM mould — see our sto-
ties on Christensen Protocols in the May and
June 1983 issues) can arrange direct transfer
to our computers through our Bulletin Board
system, which is on-line 24 hours a day,
seven days a week. Contact our office by
phone for details on transferring material in
this way.

Contributions on Disk: Contributions can
be accepted in a wide variety of disk formats,
although some have to be converted outside
our offices, which will add to the (often
lengthy) delay between receipt and acknowl-
edgement. The preferred medium is IBM
standard format single-sided, single-density,
20 cm CP/M disks. We can also handle, in-
office, Kaypro II and Osborne 13 cm disks,
and 13 cm Apple DOS or Apple CP/M disks.
Please pack them extremely carefully if post-
ing and label all disks with your name, ad-
dress and phone number.

Listings: Unless it is absolutely impossible,
we want listings produced on the computer.
This reduces the risk of error — if the com-
puter typed it, the computer probably ac-
cepted it. Print listings with a dark — prefera-
bly new — ribbon on white paper, and try to
format the output to a narrow (40-characters)
width. If they can’t be produced on a printer,
borrow a good typewriter — hand-written ma-
terial is likely to sit around the office for a
year before someone can find time to type it
all out for you! Please provide an account of
what the program does, how it works and so
on, Any comments on the program should
refer to the address, line number or label
rather than to a page number. Any comments
on modifying the program to work on other
machines will be appreciated. Try to include
a printout of at least part of a sample run if
possible.

Style: All items should be typed (or printed)
and double-spaced on plain white paper. We
will only accept original copies — no photo-
stats. Include your name, address. tele-
phone number and the date on the first page
of your manuscript (all manuscript pages
should have your surname and page number
in the top right-hand corner). Be clear and
concise, and keep Jargon and adjectives toa
minimum.

“Although the greatest care will be exercised
with contributions, no responsibility can be
accepted for the safety or return of any let-
ters, manuscripts, photographs or other ma-
terials supplied to Your Computer magazine. If
return is desired, you should include a
stamped, self-addressed envelope. If return
is critical — say it’s something you can’t afford
to lose — then don’t send it; we are careful,
but we're not perfect. Oo

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Automatic Ice 00.0... OM Peres. 116
Automation Statham ............ 81, 146
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Breeze Software 49
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Charlie’s Computer Products ... 109

Commodore 2.0 139
COMPUMAX occ eee 110
Compushack oe 9
Computer Spot 0... 12
Computer Trader —.... 116, 128, 132
Consultech ......cceses.cctecreseemee 104
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Dick Smith &...2..5ex..........-2¢ ae 147
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New Dimension Corp 154
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Pacific Electronics. im | 134
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Professional Business Machines 125
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RF Communications 2.000000... 13
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; PROVEN, GUARANTEED, SUPPORTED YIC
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161

NEXT MONTH

DUET

WARM BOOTIES

Everybody's doing it ... themselves. It's much cheaper than going
for the ready-made types, and it means you're responsible for your
own mistakes. You'll get real satisfaction out of creating your own,
and you'll be able to show your handywork to dinner guests,
neighbours, the bridge club, the postman — they'll all be amazed,
and envious.

You'll get hours of enjoyment from crocheting individual booties
for your computer's keys, or from constructing a papier mache
bubble surround for your terminal, or from knocking together an
oak-veneered stand to support your printer and a couple of pot
plants, maybe. Have you ever contemplated a floppy-disk mobile?
.. let your imagination run wild.

Then, in Your Computer November, we'll supply you with the
patterns, blueprints, cut-out templates, specifications, instruc-
tions, how-tos, know-hows, step-by-steps, and wherewithals for
adding a hard disk to your IBM PC, making your own RS232 cables and
writing your own C programs ... gloves, scalpel, screwdriver, pliers —
we're going in.

For those who prefer living in the material world, who believe the
buying and the spending of money is nine-tenths of the fun, who

aren't into homespun, we'll be taking the microscope and fine-
toothed comb to Supermicros.

On the review side: if you're a weakling, we've got TI’s Prolite; for
the heavyweights, we've got the NCR PC4i; people who cry in
mushy movies will enjoy the Microbee User Report; those who are
accountable could find good value in the FBS integrated business
accounting and stock control software; if you’re just not coping
with all that data, we've got the Sensible Solution (another Great
Database); and then there are the bits in the bucket.

We'd like very much to also fit some more data communications
into November; there’s much more to be seen, and Noncomm
Nat's really got the bug.

Our regulars can look forward to the regulars: Philsie is taking a
new tack with Structured Programming, and we're trying to get as
much Marketing out of Les as possible before he goes overseas.
Norman (secretly known as the Viatel Viper) will be Grapevining as
usual, and has an interesting do-it-yourself-type applications
story, which will warm the cockles of Commodore users’ hearts and
might make would-be buyers of business computers think twice
about spending their money on an expensive machine.

JINGLE BELL

Just think, there are less than 90 shopping days until Christmas!
Come on, don't start frantically tying knots in your purse strings —
relax. The jolly-nosed, white-bearded, dashing through the shops
with an off-course open trolley hype is going to get to you no matter
what — resign yourself to it. We have. In December's Your Computer
we'll be telling you what kind of machines, peripherals and soft-
ware you should be buying your grandmother, your boss, your
business, your toddlers, your spouse, your neighbours, your best
mate, your worst enemy, and so on...

If you're into togetherness, December's multi-user machine co-
feature might help you decide which computer would let you all
work together as one — that’s the spirit.

So, distributors and manufacturers should be putting us on their
Christmas card list, informing us of interesting goodies for the

162

shopping guide and of computers capable of babysitting several
humans at once. All such mail must be on the eggbeater's desk by
November I.

Oh, by the way, when you're out searching for stocking-filler-type
gifts to give your favourite computer freak, you should have a flip
through the Your Computer Yearbook (out about then). We're sure it'll
be one of those readables you buy someone else ‘cause you want to
delve into it yourself. Perfect forwhen the you've let the roast turkey
get you down, and that big lump of Christmas pudding you ate for
desert has got you pinned firmly to the livingroom floor - we can't
think of anything you'd rather do than read some of the past year's
best anda whole lot of completely new articles, including a preview
of the 1986 Computer of the Year Award contenders.

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Australian Computer and Telecommunications
75 Willoughby Road, Crows Nest, NSW 2065.
Telephone 02 439 6300, Telex AA 24816

A DIVISION OF AUSTRALIAN PROTECTION INDUSTRIES ele |

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